Its no more taxing file your returns over a cuppa

Mumbai, July 18: A lot can happen over a cup of coffee. Yes, like filing your tax returns. Taxsmile.com, an authorised e-Return Intermediary, has tied up with Caf Coffee Day to set up newly-launched Automated Tax Filing (ATF) machine at the latters outlets. The machine can prepare and file e-returns based on a customers input for a fee of Rs 250. Operating the ATF is like using an ATM. The service has been rolled out in Mumbai and Bangalore with 50 ATFs and will soon be launched in Delhi and Pune. The restriction on Internet use at most corporate offices and fear of being penalised for a genuine mistake keep people away from e-return filing. Of the four crore tax returns filed last year, only 1.62 crore were through the electronic mode. For tax payers who have not registered for digital signature, Taxsmile provides a drop box to collect the ITRV (income tax return verification) form signed by the customer and submit it to the I-T Department. Taxsmile will also assist taxpayers in case any query is raised by the department. Taxsmile added 70,000 new members this year to its existing base of five lakh customers. Besides Caf Coffee Day, ATFs will also be available at BPOs and major government offices. Mr Ravi Jagannathan, Vice-Chairman, eMudhra Consumer Services, said while the Income Tax Department is simplifying the tax forms, the ATF will make it a pleasure to deal with them while having a hot cuppa. Consumers no longer need to wait for tax professionals or Internet connections, he said. In a bid to maximise the utilisation and beat the seasonality, Taxsmile is also helping small and medium enterprises file their service tax and value-added tax returns on ATF. Data pertaining to tax returns are stored in an encrypted form with high level security which requires digital signature for even a Taxsmile employee.

Mr Vejay Anand, President New Business Initiatives, Coffee Day, said the motive behind the initiative was to educate the younger generation of there fiduciary duty of filing their returns in time. They always keep away thinking that it is a complicated process. Now, we have not only made it easy, but also given the right environment, he said.

June retail inflation eases, but still in double digit

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New Delhi, July 18: Retail inflation slowed in June even while remaining above the 10-per cent level for the third month in a row. Led by the sharp spurt in prices of vegetables, milk and edible oil, the consumer price index was up 10.02 per cent. However, this was lower than the 10.36 per cent recorded in May. While vegetable prices surged 27.60 per cent in June, edible oil prices jumped 16.58 per cent. Milk and milk product prices rose 12.75 per cent. With retail inflation remaining above the double-digit level, the RBI is unlikely to go in for policy rate cuts on July 31, say economy watchers. The provisional inflation rates for rural and urban areas for June are 9.74 per cent and 10.44 per cent respectively, the Central Statistics Office announced on Wednesday. Inflation rates (final) for rural and urban areas for May are 9.57 per cent and 11.52 per cent respectively. Decline in the inflation rate for the urban areas in June compared to May is attributed to the higher base of the housing group index for June 2011. The RBI Governor, Dr D. Subbarao, recently said that inflation was above the comfort level of the central bank.