The final date for the filing of Income Tax Returns (ITR) is nearing. Taxpayers have sped up their process of filing ITRs, and those who are yet to file them, must be doing so before the last date. Failing to file the ITR can create several problems for all taxpayers, and hence, the submission must be done before the deadline.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) provided multiple windows to settle at December 31 being the last date to file the ITR. The deadline was initially set on July 31, but moved to September 30, and then finally to December 31 by the central government.

This year, in a bid to make filing ITRs easy and more taxpayer-friendly, the government launched an e-filing portal, using which one can file their ITRs online. However, soon after its launch in June, it faced a lot of issues and had to fix multiple technical glitches that were flagged by users. This was the reason why the Centre extended the ITR filing deadline to December 31.

Infosys, who built the new e-filing portal, has reportedly said that 90 per cent of the glitches faced by users on the web platform has been taken care of.

Meanwhile, in an official statement by the Income Tax Department, it was revealed that more than 3 crore IT returns have already been filed on the e-filing portal till December 3.

“The number of ITRs filed per days is over 4 lakh and increasing everyday as the extended due date of December 31, 2021 is approaching,” the statement read.

Here's a step-by-step guide on filing ITRs using the new e-filing portal:

Step 1: Visit the income tax e-portal.

Step 2: Click on the ‘login here’ option on the homepage.

Step 3: Type in your permanent account number (PAN) in the ‘enter your user ID’ option, and then hit the continue button.

Step 4: In this step, the taxpayer needs to confirm the ‘secure access message’ that they have received. After this, click on continue.

Step 5: Now, one needs to choose if they want to receive the six-digit one-time password (OTP) via text message or voice call. After selecting the option, click on enter. Notably, the OTP will be valid for 15 minutes only, after which one has to generate a new one and will have a total of three chances to enter the correct OTP.

Step 6: Individuals can also use their registered Aadhaar number or net banking to login to the income tax e-filing portal. While using Aadhaar option, the number as well as the OTP that will come in the registered mobile number need to be provided, while for net banking, the taxpayer has to enter their user ID and password to get access to the account.

Step 7: Following the completion of the login process, the IT returns for financial year 2021-22 need to be processed as per the directions given on the screen. Notably, missing the deadline to file the IT return will invite a penalty and thereby, making one pay more taxes.