Assisted Income Tax Return Filing: On the new Income Tax e-filing portal, taxpayers can now add a Chartered Accountant, e-Return Intermediary (ERI) or any authorized representative for assistance in ITR filing and other related services. The new e-filing portal was launched this month to make the tax filing process easy for taxpayers.
You can add and assign a CA through the e-filing portal by using the ‘My CA Service’. You can also remove and add a CA or withdraw an already assigned CA on the e-filing portal.
CAs can assist you in the following activities through the e-filing portal:
- Filing Statutory Forms (once the person is added as a CA by the taxpayer and has accepted the request)
- e-Verify the forms assigned by taxpayer
- Upload bulk form (Form 15CB)
- View filed Statutory Forms
- View & Submit Grievances
- Set higher security Login options through Profile
- Register DSC
While CAs are members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), ERIs are authorized intermediaries who can file income tax return and also perform other functions on the behalf of taxpayers.
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Assistance from ERIs
For getting the assistance of ERIs, the new e-filing portal says, “In order to allow an ERI to assist you, you have to add an ERI through the e-Filing portal (using My ERI service). Additionally, you can activate, deactivate or remove an added ERI on the e-Filing portal. You can refer to My ERI user manual to learn more. Alternatively, an ERI can add you as a client in the e-Filing portal (after obtaining your consent to do so). In case you are not registered on the e-Filing portal, an ERI can also register you before adding you as a client. You can refer to Verify Service Request & Add Client services to learn more.”
ERIs can execute the following activities:

According to the new e-filing portal, an authorized representative is a person who can act on your behalf with specific authorization if you cannot attend your income tax-related affairs on your own.