Filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) is only half the job. Thousands of taxpayers complete their return every year but forget one crucial step—e-verification. Without verifying the return within the prescribed time limit, the Income Tax Department may treat the ITR as invalid, as if it was never filed.
If you’ve already submitted your return, here’s why e-verification is essential and how you can complete it.
Why Is e-Verification Important?
After filing an Income Tax Return, taxpayers must verify it electronically or by sending the signed ITR-V to the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC), if permitted.
Until the return is verified, the Income Tax Department does not process it.
An unverified ITR is generally treated as invalid, which means the taxpayer may be considered as not having filed the return at all, subject to applicable provisions.
What Happens If You Don’t Verify Your ITR?
Failure to e-verify your Income Tax Return within the prescribed time can lead to several consequences:
- Your ITR may be treated as invalid.
- Income tax refunds, if any, will not be processed.
- You may receive notices from the Income Tax Department.
- Benefits available to a validly filed return, including certain loss carry-forward provisions, may not be available where applicable.
- If the filing deadline has passed, you may have to explore available legal remedies, if any.
How to e-Verify Your ITR
Taxpayers can complete e-verification using any of the following methods:
- Aadhaar OTP
- Net Banking
- Digital Signature Certificate (DSC)
- Electronic Verification Code (EVC) through a bank account or Demat account
- Other modes made available on the Income Tax e-filing portal
Once successfully verified, taxpayers receive a confirmation acknowledging that the verification has been completed.
How to Check Whether Your ITR Is Verified
Taxpayers can log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal and check the status of their return under the “View Filed Returns” section.
If the status shows “Successfully e-Verified”, no further action is required.
If it shows “Pending for e-Verification”, taxpayers should complete the verification immediately within the applicable timeline.
Don’t Ignore This Final Step
Many taxpayers believe their compliance is complete once the return is uploaded. However, e-verification is a mandatory step in the filing process.
Completing verification promptly helps ensure faster processing of returns, quicker refunds where applicable and avoids unnecessary notices or compliance issues.
