Complying with Advance Tax ‘e-campaign’

[Vivek Jalan]

Through e-campaign, persons/entities carrying out significant financial transactions are being ‘alerted’ through email/SMS to ‘urge’ them to compute and deposit their due advance tax on or before 15.03.2024. This is being done as a part of ‘taxpayer service’ and ‘easing compliance for taxpayers’. The Income Tax Department has receives certain information on specific financial transactions undertaken by persons/entities during Financial Year (F.Y.) 2023-24. On the basis of analysis of the taxes paid so far during the current financial year, the Department has identified such persons/entities where payment of taxes for F.Y. 2023-24 (A.Y. 2024-25) is not commensurate with the financial transactions made by the persons/entitiesconcerned, during the said period.

This information is reflected in the Annual Information Statement (AIS) module and is available to the persons/entities for viewing. For viewing the details of significant transactions, the persons/entities should login to their e-filing account (if already created) and go to the Compliance Portal. On this portal, e-Campaign tab can be accessed to view significant transactions.

So now that Income Tax Department has initiated a service, taxpayers also need to oblige by a quid-pro-quo service. To comply with the same, the following are the suggested steps –

Step 1. Most important is not to ignore this communication
Step 2. Log in to the e-filing income tax return (ITR) websitehttps:// www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/. If you are using the e-filing portal for the first time, make sure to register on it.
Step 3. Click on 'Compliance Portal' button under the 'Pending Actions' tab.
Step 4. A pop-up browser window will open, and it will say that the 'Compliance Portal' is hosted on another web address and on clicking 'Proceed' you are going to leave the e-filing website and get redirected to the 'Compliance Portal' website. Click on the 'Proceed' button.
Step 5. Click on the 'e-campaign' button and access the e- campaign' page on the compliance portal. If there is any transaction that has been identified by the tax department it will show up here.
Step 6. Thereafter you need to follow instructions and ‘view feedback in AIS’
Step 7. Important to note is that it is only mandatory to provide feedback on the transactions where response is ‘expected’. Others marked as ‘optional’ are not mandatory. You can select the ‘bulk response’ section also for each party.