Faster ITR filing
To overcome bandwith issues faced by some taxpayers while accessing the income tax e-filing website, the income tax department has launched a new utility called e-filing Lite, which is a lighter version of the e-filing portal of the department. It enables quicker access to the portal and faster filing of the tax return.

Access
Visit https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home. Under ‘Quick Links’, there is a ‘Quick ITR Filing’ tab. Clicking on this allows access to the Lite version. One can click on the e-filing Lite tab above the portal login button under the Registered Users tab.

Utilities
Since it is a lighter version, it only displays tabs relevant to ITR filing. These are Dashboard, My account and E-file. Other utilities such as e-proceedings, e-nivaran, compliance, worklist or profile settings are not available on the Lite version.

Prerequisites
To use the Lite version, the user needs to be registered on the e-filing portal. All categories of assessees can file their returns using the Lite version.

Preparing return
The user can download Form 26AS to check TDS, compute taxable income and tax liability. Further, if any tax is payable, the same can be paid either online or physically via cheque as self-assessment tax.

Filing of return
Once the tax is paid, the user can proceed to return filing. The process is identical to the standard e-filing one. The ITR form must be filled either online or using Excel or Java. Once uploaded and filed, the return needs to be e-verified.

Points to note
Penalty of up to Rs 10,000 is payable if there is a delay in filing income tax return beyond the stipulated date.
It is important to keep all information and documents relevant to filing returns handy while filing ITR.