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For easing the process of authentication of electronic records in faceless assessment proceedings, the Centre has amended Income Tax Rules, 1962, to provide that records submitted through account of the taxpayers in the Income Tax Department's portal shall be deemed to have been authenticated by the taxpayer by electronic verification code (EVC).

With this change, submission of electronic record by taxpayers by logging into registered account in designated portal of the Income Tax Department will be considered authenticated by EVC for the purposes of section 144B(7)(i)(b) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

However, under the existing provisions, this simplified process of authentication by EVC is not available to certain persons (such as companies, tax audit cases, etc.) and they are mandatorily required to authenticate the electronic records by digital signature. It has now been decided that simplified process of authentication by EVC will be provided even for this category of taxpayers.

Hence, the persons who are mandatorily required to authenticate electronic records by digital signature shall be deemed to have authenticated the electronic records when they submit the record through their registered account in the Income Tax Department's portal.

Government will make legislative amendments in this regard in due course.