A valid Email ID and Mobile Number has to
be registered/updated on the e-filing website of the Income Tax Department so
that direct communication with taxpayer can be possible. For details, taxpayers
can log on to: https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/eFiling/Portal/StaticPDF/Update_Contact_Details.pdf)
The Department will send separate One
Time Passwords (OTP) also referred as PIN on the mobile and email provided by
the taxpayer. The OTPs have to be entered by the taxpayer after logging into their
e-filing account to authenticate the same. The
OTPs will remain valid for 24 hours within which the taxpayer has to complete
the process. For ‘Foreign/ NRI’ taxpayers, the OTP validation of the email ID
would be sufficient.
Validation of email
and mobile numbers has been introduced to facilitate taxpayers as in many cases
incorrect emails and mobile numbers have been provided and taxpayers did not
receive important communication from the Department. Further,
it has been observed that in many cases taxpayers are not able to reset their
password since the new temporary password from the Department may be sent to
their registered email which may be different from the taxpayer’s personal
email, e.g. email of their intermediary.
This is a one-time
process to validate the mobile number and email ID. However, whenever the
taxpayer changes the Mobile Number or email ID in their Profile, the process
will be repeated to ensure that the particulars provided are correct. Further,
this validation will ensure that Department can send an OTP for resetting the
password used for Login in case the taxpayer has forgotten the password.
One mobile number
or email ID can be used for a maximum of 10 user accounts as the Primary
Contact- Mobile Number and Email ID in e-Filing. This is to ensure that family
members and related business concerns (not exceeding 10 separate users) not
having personal email or mobile can be covered under a common email or mobile,
but in general taxpayers should have their own unique email ID and Mobile
registered with the Department.
The taxpayer can
enter any other person’s email or mobile number in addition, as a Secondary
Contact (without any restriction on the number of user accounts linked as a
Secondary Contact). Using “Profile Settings à My Profile” the taxpayer can
select to include the Secondary Contact to also receive emails, alerts etc.
It is advised that
the emails and SMS from the Income tax Department may be included in the ‘safe
list’ or ‘white list’ to prevent the communications from the Department from
being blocked or rejected or sent to Spam folder. Taxpayers are also advised
not to share their user-id and password of their e-filing account with others
to prevent un-authorized access.Taxpayers can reset their password using the
'Forgot Password?' link while logging in to their e-filing account and by
providing the necessary details.
The Department
requests the cooperation of all taxpayers for completing this validation
process at the earliest for a smooth and convenient return filing process.
