According to current tax laws, individual taxpayers (including residents as well as non-residents) are classified into three categories: those below 60 years of age, senior citizens (60-80 years) and super senior citizens (above 80 years).

In the first category, individuals with annual income up to Rs 2.5 lakh are not liable to pay income tax. Senior citizens with income up to Rs 3 lakh are exempted from paying tax. For super senior citizens, income up to Rs 5 lakh is exempt from tax.

The Income Tax Department has provided online facilities - through its e-filing portal incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in - for individuals to file their ITR for assessment year 2019-20 (financial year 2018-19).

For filing of income tax returns, individuals are required to register on the Income Tax Department's e-filing portal using their Permanent Account Number (PAN). However, those who do not have a PAN can file an ITR by quoting the Aadhaar number instead. (Know all about PAN, Aadhaar interchangeability)

There are seven forms available for filing income tax returns: ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-3, ITR-4, ITR-5, ITR-6 and ITR-7.

This time, the ITR forms are available in a pre-filled format. These forms contain details of income and taxes paid by assessees during the year. The department obtains these details from third-party agencies including banks, mutual fund houses and credit card companies. The tax department has, however, advised the taxpayers to verify the pre-filled data carefully and specify any other taxable income which is not available on a pre-filled basis.

Income tax laws also require the public to verify the income tax return after submission. The Income Tax Department provides five ways for ITR verification: through an Aadhaar OTP (one-time passcode)-based process, through a bank ATM/bank account, through a demat account and through net banking.

The Income Tax Department also enables assessees to check the status of their submitted ITRs online through its e-filing portal. The income tax assessee is required to provide details such as PAN and acknowledgement number in order to make use of this facility. The acknowledgement number is an identification number provided by the Income Tax Department on submission of an income tax return online.

The taxman has stipulated a penalty amount ranging from Rs. 5,000 to Rs. 10,000 for filing of an income tax return after the due date.