I did not file income tax returns last year. I plan to file this year but have forgotten the password and my PAN and Aadhaar card also not linked. Please suggest how I can file ITR for FY23.
Name withheld on request
Reply by: Neeraj Agarwala, Partner, Nangia Andersen India, with inputs from Neetu Brahma, Nangia Andersen India
Filing an income tax return (ITR) is a legal requirement for specific individuals, and it is highly recommended for others, even if it is not mandated by law. However, if for some reason a taxpayer has not filed their ITR for the previous years and is preparing to file their income tax return for the current year, here are a few pointers they need to keep in mind:
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If you have forgotten your password
The Forgot Password service is available to all registered users on the e-Filing portal. With this service, you can reset your e-Filing portal password with e-Filing OTP / Aadhaar OTP / Bank Account EVC / Demat Account EVC / Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) / Net Banking. But keep in mind that to recover a password there are certain prerequisites that one needs to adhere to:
| Options for resetting your password | Prerequisites |
| OTP on mobile number registered with Aadhaar | PAN linked with Aadhaar (Individual taxpayer) |
| PAN of the Principal Contact linked with Aadhaar (Other than Individual Taxpayers (except Company) and HUF) | |
| E-Filing OTP on registered mobile number and email ID | Access to primary email ID and mobile number registered with e-Filing |
| Bank account EVC | Access to your mobile number and email ID registered with your bank account |
| Validated bank account | |
| Demat account EVC | Access to your mobile number and email ID registered with your demat account |
| Validated demat account | |
| Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) | Valid and active DSC |
| The DSC USB token should be procured from a Certifying Authority provider | |
| The DSC USB token should be class 2 or class 3 certificate | |
| Net Banking | PAN linked with bank account |
| Valid and active Net Banking account | |
| Net Banking option enabled using e-Filing Vault Higher Security service |
Link PAN with Aadhaar
If one has not linked PAN with Aadhaar, most probably their PAN would have become inoperative. Such taxpayers will not be able to prepare their ITR until they have linked their PAN with Aadhaar. You can link your PAN with Aadhaar using the e-filling portal and paying a late fee of Rs 1,000. It is pertinent to note that this step may take up to 30 days at the back end and hence it is strongly recommended that those who have not linked their PAN with Aadhaar must do so at the earliest to avoid any delay in filing of their income tax return.
General details in ITR
General information such as name, address, and date of birth are auto-populated in the ITRs based on PAN number. All the information pre-filled in the income tax return must be cross-checked to ensure that details are updated and accurate.
Bringing forward any carry-forward losses
Generally, the carry forward of losses is auto-populated based on the income tax returns filed for the previous years. Remember that in most cases, losses can be carried forward for up to eight assessment years. If there has been a gap in filing of income tax returns, it may be possible that carry-forward losses are not auto-populated and required to be manually filed by the taxpayer.
Logging onto the income tax portal after a period of inactivity may appear intimidating. There could be pending notices that you haven’t responded, unclaimed refunds, or even outstanding tax demands. The same can be verified through the e-proceedings tabs. It is also advisable that the taxpayer download their previous years’ Form 26AS from the portal and review the same so that there is no non-compliance. The electronic filing portal simplifies the process of addressing outstanding notices, demands etc and where required seeking assistance from professionals is highly recommended.
