The Income Tax Department provides taxpayers with a 'Discard' facility to remove unverified Income Tax Returns (ITR) from the portal and submit fresh returns with correct details. According to reports from Mint, this option allows taxpayers to correct mistakes such as incorrect income details, omitted deductions, and wrong tax calculations before the verification process begins. The facility is available for original, belated, or revised ITRs that have been filed but not yet verified.
The Discard option is only available before verification is completed, as reported by Mint. Taxpayers cannot use this facility if they have already completed e-verification or if the physical ITR-V has been sent to the Central Processing Centre (CPC). The department has set no limit on how many times a taxpayer can use the discard option as long as the return remains unverified. This facility is available for returns filed from Assessment Year 2023-24 onwards and can generally be used until the last date permitted for filing returns under Section 139(1), 139(4), or 139(5), which is currently 31 December of the relevant assessment year.
To discard an ITR, taxpayers must visit the Income Tax e-filing portal, select 'Income Tax Return' under e-File, and navigate to the e-Verify ITR page. As reported by Mint, taxpayers can then click on the 'Discard' option and confirm the action. However, discarding an ITR completely cancels the earlier filing, meaning the discarded return will not be considered when determining whether the taxpayer has filed a return. If a taxpayer files a fresh return after discarding an original return before the due date, it will be treated as a belated return, potentially resulting in late-filing fees and other implications.
While both options allow taxpayers to correct mistakes, they function differently according to Mint reports. Revised returns under Section 139(5) keep the original return as part of the taxpayer's filing history, allowing updates while maintaining earlier details. In contrast, the Discard ITR option removes the earlier unverified return completely, with figures and details no longer available on the portal. Taxpayers must then file a new return from the beginning, making this option more drastic for correcting errors.
