Filing Digitally Signed Income Tax Returns Just Became Easier

Taxpayers had recently reported that they faced issues in using the Digital Signature Certificate at the time of uploading their Income Tax Returns.

"This is because the latest browser versions have started disabling the standard way in which they support plug-in functions to address security," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said.

Hence, the Java applet that was used by the e-filing website "would not work" in the latest versions of Google Chrome, Mozilla or Internet Explorer, it said.

"In order to address this issue and to simplify the procedure for uploading Income Tax return (ITR) with Digital Signature Certificate (DSC), an easy to use software utility has been developed which would have to be downloaded in taxpayer's computer and used for signing using Digital Signature Certificate," the CBDT said.

India is among the select band of nations that has a digital signature legislation in place. This act grants digital signatures that have been issued by a licensed certifying authority the same status as physical signatures.

E-filing of returns witnessed a jump of 27.22 percent in the first nine months of the ongoing fiscal.

A total of 3.09 crore returns were electronically filed during April to December period as against 2.43 crore in the nine-month period last fiscal, according to the latest figures of the Income-Tax Department.

In 2014-15, a total of 3.41 crore returns were filed electronically.