The Delhi High Court has directed the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to bring in options to facilitate payees to "opt out" of submission of Aadhaar numbers in the online form for filing income tax returns (ITR). Currently, a payee has to quote her/his Aadhaar number or Aadhaar enrolment number to successfully complete ITR filing online.
A bench of judges S. Ravindra Bhat and A.K. Chawla asked the CBDT change the portal and add an “opt out” option for people filing their returns online. The court’s order came on a plea by two Delhi-based women petitioners, Shreya Sen and Jayshree Satpute, who wanted to file their ITR without quoting their Aadhaar numbers. The Delhi High Court directive comes as a breather for thousands who do not have an Aadhaar number or are unwilling to quote the number due to privacy concerns surrounding the same.
The CBDT had extended the deadline for PAN-Aadhaar linking to March 31, 2019, in the backdrop of the debate regarding the constitutional validity of Aadhaar cards. The Supreme Court, which had concluded a marathon hearing in the case, is expected to deliver its judgment soon in the matter.
While various courts across India have, at different times, allowed individual petitioners to file ITR without furnishing their Aadhaar numbers, this is the first time a court has asked the CBDT to tweak the website to alleviate concerns among thousands of payees.
The Madras High Court had, on Tuesday, allowed nine petitioners to file their Income Tax returns manually without quoting Aadhaar number for the assessment year 2018-19. A division bench of Justices M.M. Sundresh and Anand Venkatesh passed the interim order noting that since the constitutional validity of the Aadhaar itself was yet to be decided, the petitioners could be allowed to file I-T returns without the Aadhaar.