How to correctly scan documents before uploading to the Income Tax portal

The Income Tax Return (ITR) filing season is here. As you must know, this year, the IT department extended the deadline for filing ITR to September 15 from the original July 31 due to various changes in ITR forms this year.

Even though the deadline is now extended, people have already started filing their ITRs, and you should too. Filing ITR within the deadline allows you to avoid paying any penalty or fees, and makes you eligible for an early refund, if applicable.

While in most cases you don’t need to upload any documents, there are a few situations when you could be asked to submit documents. More on this later.

How to correctly upload documents?

As per the Income Tax Department’s official website, taxpayers must follow some practices for scanning and uploading attachments.

“Taxpayers may kindly note that whenever any document is uploaded to the e-Filing website in support of any service request, the following best practices should be complied with,” the IT department says on its website.

• The document should be in PDF format.
• ⁠It should be scanned in black and white only.
• ⁠Remember to never upload any document that has read/write/password protection.
• ⁠The document should be at 300 dots per inch (dpi).
• ⁠Scan the original document and avoid scanning copies or faxes.
• ⁠Scan the document in A4 or Letter size only.
• ⁠Multi-page documents must be scanned together, in logical order.
• ⁠Remember to close the tray cover when scanning single pages on a flatbed scanner.

• Avoid documents with faint or faded text.
• ⁠Don’t upload handwritten documents with important identifying information like PAN, as it is hard to decipher.
• ⁠Avoid uploading documents with ink bleeding or smudging.
• ⁠Refrain from uploading documents that are cut or clipped, resulting in missing important details.

When do you need to upload documents?

For most salaried, freelancers, or small business taxpayers, no document upload (physical or scanned, like Form 16, rent receipts or investment proofs) is needed while e-filing ITR, as it is usually filed on a self-declaration basis. In some cases, you might need to upload documents:

So, even though you wouldn’t typically need to upload supporting documents, ensure keeping them handy in case the IT department asks for them. Additionally, remember these scanning guidelines before submitting documents to avoid delays or rejections.