AADHAAR RELATED ARTICLES: 8332 - Here is how you e-verify your income tax return

In 2009, I became extremely concerned with the concept of Unique Identity for various reasons. Connected with many like minded highly educated people who were all concerned.

On 18th May 2010, I started this Blog to capture anything and everything I came across on the topic. This blog with its million hits is a testament to my concerns about loss of privacy and fear of the ID being misused and possible Criminal activities it could lead to.

In 2017 the Supreme Court of India gave its verdict after one of the longest hearings on any issue. I did my bit and appealed to the Supreme Court Judges too through an On Line Petition.

In 2019 the Aadhaar Legislation has been revised and passed by the two houses of the Parliament of India making it Legal. I am no Legal Eagle so my Opinion carries no weight except with people opposed to the very concept.

In 2019, this Blog now just captures on a Daily Basis list of Articles Published on anything to do with Aadhaar as obtained from Daily Google Searches and nothing more. Cannot burn the midnight candle any longer.

"In Matters of Conscience, the Law of Majority has no place"- Mahatma Gandhi

Ram Krishnaswamy

Sydney, Australia.

Aadhaar

The UIDAI has taken two successive governments in India and the entire world for a ride. It identifies nothing. It is not unique. The entire UID data has never been verified and audited. The UID cannot be used for governance, financial databases or anything. It’s use is the biggest threat to national security since independence. – Anupam Saraph 2018

When I opposed Aadhaar in 2010 , I was called a BJP stooge. In 2016 I am still opposing Aadhaar for the same reasons and I am told I am a Congress die hard. No one wants to see why I oppose Aadhaar as it is too difficult. Plus Aadhaar is FREE so why not get one ? Ram Krishnaswamy

First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.-Mahatma Gandhi

In matters of conscience, the law of the majority has no place.Mahatma Gandhi

“The invasion of privacy is of no consequence because privacy is not a fundamental right and has no meaning under Article 21. The right to privacy is not a guaranteed under the constitution, because privacy is not a fundamental right.” Article 21 of the Indian constitution refers to the right to life and liberty -Attorney General Mukul Rohatgi

“There is merit in the complaints. You are unwittingly allowing snooping, harassment and commercial exploitation. The information about an individual obtained by the UIDAI while issuing an Aadhaar card shall not be used for any other purpose, save as above, except as may be directed by a court for the purpose of criminal investigation.”-A three judge bench headed by Justice J Chelameswar said in an interim order.

Legal scholar Usha Ramanathan describes UID as an inverse of sunshine laws like the Right to Information. While the RTI makes the state transparent to the citizen, the UID does the inverse: it makes the citizen transparent to the state, she says.

Good idea gone bad
I have written earlier that UID/Aadhaar was a poorly designed, unreliable and expensive solution to the really good idea of providing national identification for over a billion Indians. My petition contends that UID in its current form violates the right to privacy of a citizen, guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution. This is because sensitive biometric and demographic information of citizens are with enrolment agencies, registrars and sub-registrars who have no legal liability for any misuse of this data. This petition has opened up the larger discussion on privacy rights for Indians. The current Article 21 interpretation by the Supreme Court was done decades ago, before the advent of internet and today’s technology and all the new privacy challenges that have arisen as a consequence.

Rajeev Chandrasekhar, MP Rajya Sabha

“What is Aadhaar? There is enormous confusion. That Aadhaar will identify people who are entitled for subsidy. No. Aadhaar doesn’t determine who is eligible and who isn’t,” Jairam Ramesh

But Aadhaar has been mythologised during the previous government by its creators into some technology super force that will transform governance in a miraculous manner. I even read an article recently that compared Aadhaar to some revolution and quoted a 1930s historian, Will Durant.Rajeev Chandrasekhar, Rajya Sabha MP

“I know you will say that it is not mandatory. But, it is compulsorily mandatorily voluntary,” Jairam Ramesh, Rajya Saba April 2017.

August 24, 2017: The nine-judge Constitution Bench rules that right to privacy is “intrinsic to life and liberty”and is inherently protected under the various fundamental freedoms enshrined under Part III of the Indian Constitution

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the World; indeed it's the only thing that ever has"

“Arguing that you don’t care about the right to privacy because you have nothing to hide is no different than saying you don’t care about free speech because you have nothing to say.” -Edward Snowden

In the Supreme Court, Meenakshi Arora, one of the senior counsel in the case, compared it to living under a general, perpetual, nation-wide criminal warrant.

Had never thought of it that way, but living in the Aadhaar universe is like living in a prison. All of us are treated like criminals with barely any rights or recourse and gatekeepers have absolute power on you and your life.

Announcing the launch of the # BreakAadhaarChainscampaign, culminating with events in multiple cities on 12th Jan. This is the last opportunity to make your voice heard before the Supreme Court hearings start on 17th Jan 2018. In collaboration with @no2uidand@rozi_roti.

UIDAI's security seems to be founded on four time tested pillars of security idiocy

1) Denial

2) Issue fiats and point finger

3) Shoot messenger

4) Bury head in sand.

God Save India

Sunday, July 26, 2015

8332 - Here is how you e-verify your income tax return - Money Control

Here is how you e-verify your income tax return

After filing income tax returns, you are supposed to get it verified. Earlier it was mandatory to send the physical copies to income tax department, now you can e-verify it in minutes.

PREETI KHURANA Chief Editor, ClearTax Expertise : Tax More about the Expert... 26 4Google +20 18

Preeti Khurana

Your income tax return filing process is not complete until you have successfully verified your income tax return. Earlier, returns could be verified via posting the ITR-V or use of digital signatures. In a very welcome move the income tax department has now introduced several means to e-verify your income tax return. Your return can be verified by generating an EVC or electronic verification code. If you verify your return via EVC, you are no longer required to send the physical ITR-V. EVC is a 10 digit alphanumeric code and is unique to a PAN. One EVC code can validate only one return, so if you revise your return, you have to generate another EVC. This code can be obtained through various ways, lets understand them in detail – EVC through net banking – Check if your bank is authorised by the income tax department for providing direct access to the government’s e-filing website. Also, your PAN must have been validated via KYC. You will need your internet banking password and login and transaction password to proceed. Once you login to bank’s site and request access to www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, you will be able to generate an EVC which will be displayed on the screen and will also be sent to your registered mobile number. You can then e-verify your return with this EVC. This will be a big relief to Non Resident Indians who face distress with sending physical ITR-Vs if they don’t have digital signatures. EVC through Aadhaar OTP – Verification of your return through aadhaar is also done via the government’s e-filing website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. You have to link your aadhaar card from within the government’s site and then link it with your PAN on the website mentioned above. After aadhaar is authenticated & linked, an OTP will be sent to the taxpayer’s registered mobile number. And then this OTP can be used to verify the tax return. Do note that this OTP is valid for 10 minutes. The government has asked tax payers to mention their aadhaar number in the tax return. However, do note that mentioning your aadhaar number does not relieve you of e-verification of your tax return. Your return must be separately e-verified using any of the means mentioned here. EVC through ATM – Banks which have been registered with the income tax department for providing this service can be used for generating EVC through ATM machines. EVC can be generated by logging into the bank account via an ATM and selecting option ‘Generate EVC for income tax return filing’. The bank’s systems will then request the income tax department’s website to send an EVC to the taxpayers registered mobile number which can be then used for verifying your tax return. So if you are not able to login to your net banking for some reason, you will be able to generate an EVC through ATM, if your bank has been specified for this purpose by the tax department. EVC though the www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in website – Where the tax payer’s gross total income less deductions is Rs 5 lakhs or less and there is no refund due to the tax payer, EVC can be generated from within the government’s tax filing website. Such EVC shall be sent to the registered email id and mobile number of the taxpayer. However, this option may be restricted based on the risk assessment the department has for a taxpayer, so use another method if you are unsuccessful. Physical ITR-V – Failure of all four options could be a streak of bad luck or possibly travails of a new system. Don’t lose sleep over it. You can still verify by sending your ITR-V using the old way of printing, signing and sending via speed post. Do remember though, this document must be sent within 120 days of your e-filing. Bear in mind that returns must be e-verified or a digital signature must be used, failing which your return submission would be considered incomplete and you may have to submit your return again. Recently, the CBDT has extended the timeline for submitting ITR-Vs for assessment years AY 2013-14 and AY 2014-15. The ITR-V for these assessment years can now be submitted up till 31st October 2015. This is applicable for your return for AY 2013-14 which has been filed on or after 1st April 2014 till 31st March 2015. And your return for AY 2014-15 which has been filed on or after 1st April 2014 till 30th June 2015. Author is a chartered accountant and chief editor at ClearTax.