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The Income Tax Department has launched a brand-new function of co-browsing on its e-filing website. This will allow Helpdesk agents to provide support in real time by collaborating with the browser of the taxpayer. The feature will make it easier for taxpayers to file ITR and complete other tasks and simpler for the Helpdesk to assist customers remotely.
READ MORE: Your Question Answered: What is Form 16 and why is it needed for your income tax returns?
How does co-browsing aid in filing IT returns?
The co-browsing agent requests access to your web browser so that he may use it from his workstation, wherever it is, to streamline the procedure.
Having access, agents can use this tool to annotate the taxpayer's screen view, assist the taxpayer in filling out ITR forms and other Statutory forms, modify settings, finish transactions, locate resources for the taxpayer, including assistance and reference materials, and even upload documents.
READ MORE: Income Tax: A step-by-step guide to filing ITR for a deceased person
Agents are not permitted to view any other data on the taxpayer's desktop or computer when co-browsing. If the taxpayer wants to quit the conversation, they may also cease the co-browsing session at any moment.
Is co-browsing safe?
This feature may resemble screen sharing, however, in screen sharing, the taxpayer and the agent both must install a third-party application before they may share their screens. Co-browsing is more practical and simple to use because neither the agent nor the taxpayer needs to install any additional software in order to share their complete screen.
Screen sharing allows customer care representatives to view the client's full desktop and any notifications that may appear. Co-browsing, however, offers a more private and safe experience because the agent can only see the taxpayer's browser's current window and nothing else.
Besides allowing agents to help taxpayers navigate, scroll, type text and highlight areas of interest in real-time, co-browsing can also be combined with live chat, and phone to resolve the issues faced by customers faster, as per the Income Tax website.