What is the Online Tax Accounting System?

[ecis2016.org] Here’s all you need to know about OLTAS, which is the Online Tax Accounting System.

OLTAS (Online Tax Accounting System) is a project by the Income Tax Department to receive information about and maintain records of tax paid through banks via online upload of challan details.

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What is OLTAS- Online Tax Accounting System?

Through a network of bank branches, OLTAS collects, accounts for and reports Direct Tax payments from taxpayers of all kinds. Tax Information Network (TIN) receives taxpayer data directly from banks. The National Securities Depository Ltd. maintains the Tax Information Network (TIN) in order to manage all the information and data about challans between the tax department and the banks.

Why was OLTAS Introduced?

OLTAS was introduced in June 2004 and was designed with the following objectives:

• Direct tax accounting online
• Direct tax collection online
• Direct tax receipts and payments online

A total of 32 public and private banks have been authorised under OLTAS, which was implemented in three phases. Initially, the task was confined to data related to taxation. After April 2005, the project went online, and now the banks are required to reconcile daily tax collections with the information and data that TIN receives.

Advantages of OLTAS

• It replaces the previous simplified challan with a quadruplicate challan.
• Online tax payments can be made from anywhere at any time.
• Taxpayers can easily obtain an acknowledgement of taxes paid once the bank authorises payment.
• A counterfoil with a rubber stamp containing the Challan Identification Number (CIN) ensures that the payment has been properly accounted for.
• It is possible to check all details and information about tax payments online.
• Since only the counterfoil is available to the taxpayer, taxpayers no longer need to attach copies/acknowledgements of challans with their Returns. Enclosing proof of payment of taxes with the income-tax returns is sufficient compliance with the CIN requirement.

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All stakeholders benefit from the ease and convenience of using OLTAS to pay, collect, and account for taxes. Tracking is improved, and the chance of default is reduced.

How does OLTAS work?

For the uploading of tax payment data, the Income Tax Department has established a specific file format. When it comes to tax information or data generation or transfer, all participating banks and their branches must use this format. If the file is prepared in the appropriate format, then the File Validation Utility (FVU) provided by the NSDL can be used to verify that the file structure is correct.

For the following, the taxpayer should use a single copy challan as per OLTAS:

In addition to corporate tax, ITNS 280 is for regular income taxes as well

For depositing TDS and TCS, the ITNS 281 is required

Taxes payable using ITNS 282 include:

• Gift Tax
• Wealth Tax
• Hotel Receipts Tax
• Estate Duty
• Securities Transaction Tax
• Expenditure Tax
• Any other direct tax
• For any taxes related to fringe benefits or banking cash transactions, the ITNS 283 is required

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After the bank has stamped the challan, the taxpayer receives the tear-off section, which contains a Challan Identification Number (CIN). This information includes:

• Bank BSR codes are seven-digit numbers. They identify the bank where the taxpayer deposited their tax.
• When the challan was presented 
• The taxpayer’s 5-digit serial number of the bank’s challan presented to him on that particular day

Taxpayers must enter the CIN in their income tax return as evidence of their payment of tax, and it must also be cited in any future inquiries. Taxpayers must enter the CIN in their income tax return as evidence of their payment of tax, and it must also be cited in any future inquiries.

OLTAS refund

The income tax authorities at the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) receive your income tax returns once they have been filed successfully. Tax information is verified for accuracy. Intimations informing the taxpayer about the tax payable or tax refund will be sent after the details regarding the tax paid or deducted are cross-checked with the records at the income tax department.

A refund order is generated for the taxpayer when they are due a tax refund, and it is sent to the income tax refund banker, i.e., the State Bank of India (SBI), CMP Branch, Mumbai.

OLTAS online refund status

The OLTAS portal can also be used to check refund status. To check your OLTAS challan status online, follow the steps below:

• Visit the official portal at https://www.tin-nsdl.com
• Select the ‘Status of Tax Refunds’ option from the drop-down box under the ‘Services’ tab.
• The PAN field must be filled out, and a captcha code must be entered.
• Please click ‘Submit’.
• On the next screen, you will see details regarding your refund status

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Source: https://ecis2016.org
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