OLTAS - What is OLTAS, How to Check OLTAS Challan Status

OLTAS - Online Tax Accounting System

OLTAS is an acronym for Online Tax Accounting System. The OLTAS full form suggests it is essentially a record of all data pertaining to direct taxes from every taxpayer. You will remember going to a bank, filling out a challan, and paying taxes. The bank would account for the same on behalf of the IT department and credit the same to it. Thus, a tax payment made by you becomes a record, which is now saved for posterity.

Now, imagine in today’s technological world, with various payments being made in various ways, it would be humanly impossible to manage a manual system with any reliability.

The earlier system was a manual one. This made the process of filing taxes slightly inconvenient. It created bottlenecks throughout the network, and the people involved felt that their time and efforts were wasted reconciling data.

Once the system went online, things began to look up as there was a semblance of reliability and accuracy created in the system.

Thus, in 2004, the Reserve Bank of India, the Indian Bank Association, the Account Controller, and the governing body for direct taxes in India- the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), jointly set up the OLTAS (Online Tax Accounting System) system in 2004.

The main objective of OLTAS was to capture each and every transaction individually and bring it online for the benefit of the participants. OLTAS can now account for direct taxes online, collect direct taxes online, and report direct tax receipts and payments online.

The current OLTAS comprising 32 public and private sector banks, results from three phases of seminal work on the system. However, the tax payment system is dynamic, changing in response to technological advances.

OLTAS Challan Status Enquiry

According to the OLTAS, taxpayers can check the status of their OLTAS challans deposited in banks online. There are two modes of tracking the status - CIN-based view and TAN-based view.

Challan Status Enquiry

The OLTAS challan status inquiry is available to both taxpayers and banks.

Challan Status Enquiry for Taxpayers – CIN-Based

Taxpayers have two options for viewing the status of their challans. While one is CIN-based, the other is TAN-based.

The CIN-based status displays the following information:

• BSR Code
• Date of Deposit
• Challan Serial Number
• Major Head Code with description
• TAN/PAN
• Name of Tax Payer
• Date of receipt by TIN
• Confirmation of the correct amount

Challan Status Enquiry for Taxpayers – TAN-Based

The TAN-based status displays the following information:

• CIN
• Major Head Code with description
• Minor Head Code
• Nature of Payment

The system can quickly verify amounts against CIN uploaded by the banks.

Challan Status Enquiry for Banks

The challan status enquiry for banks is available across tax-collecting branches and the nodal branches.

Challan Status Enquiry for Banks – Collecting Bank Branch

The Collecting Bank Branch status displays the following information:

• Challan Serial Number
• Challan Tender Date
• PAN/TAN
• Name of Taxpayer/li>
• Amount
• Date of receipt by TIN

Challan Status Enquiry for Banks – Collecting Bank Branch

The Nodal Bank Branch status displays the following information:

• Nodal Branch Scroll Number
• Scroll Date
• Major Head Code – Description
• Total Amount
• Number of Branches
• Number of Challans

Further, for each Nodal Branch Scroll Number, the system displays the following information:

• BSR Code
• Branch Scroll Number
• Branch Scroll Date
• Total Amount
• Number of Challans
• Date of receipt by TIN

How Does OLTAS Work?

The IT Department has created a platform into which participants enter the data in a common format. Data security is handled through the architecture, which allows only the formatted data to enter the system. The participants are given a File Validation Utility (FVU) through which they certify the correctness of the data of tax payment uploaded.

OLTAS allows the data to be entered through a common single-copy challan with specific challan numbers covering the various tax categories. The various challans being used are as follows:

• Challan Number ITNS 280 - For payment of OLTAS income tax and corporate tax
• Challan Number ITNS 281 - For OLTAS TDS and TCS from corporates and non-corporates
• Challan Number ITNS 282 - For payment of securities transaction tax, estate duty, wealth tax, hotel receipts tax, gift tax, and other direct tax
• Challan Number ITNS 283 - For payment of fringe benefits tax and banking cash transaction tax
• Challan No. ITNS 285 for payment of equalisation levy
• Challan No. ITNS 286 for payment under Income Declaration Scheme, 2016.
• Challan No. ITNS 287 for payment under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 (PMGKY)
• Form 26QB for depositing payment towards TDS on the Sale of Property
• Form 26QC for depositing payment towards TDS on Rent of Property

Benefits of OLTAS

The benefits of OLTAS are as follows:

• The old model is replaced by a new model, with only one challan instead of four earlier
• Payment of OLTAS tax is acknowledged immediately, whether paid online or in cash at the bank
• The Challan Identification Number (CIN) featured on the acknowledgement counterfoil serves as proof that payment is accounted for
• The challan status enquiry can be used to check the status of the payment
• Convenience of paying taxes via multiple modes – online or at the bank
• Reduction in work because CIN alone would suffice along with tax returns instead of sending the challans
• Taxpayers can acquire their tax payment acknowledgements from their bank branches more easily with OLTAS

Understanding OLTAS

Before OLTAS was launched, the tax payment system was completely manual and involved a visit to a bank to make a payment, filling up four challans, making a payment, and receiving an acknowledgement for future use.

You then had to submit these challans with your tax returns to complete the accounting process. The system was well thought out and worked well, but for the slowness and certain other drawbacks that typically manual systems are prone to.

Therefore, converting the manual system to a digital system is a simple transformation that has made OLTAS a powerful tool for all stakeholders. The beauty is that the system is completely online and links the taxpayer with the IT department via the banks.

Thus, the new OLTAS system has all the features of the old manual system plus a host of new features that helps the taxpayer immensely to reduce time and effort in managing an efficient taxpaying process.

The OLTAS system can perform collection and accounting of direct taxes online in addition to reporting receipts and payments of direct taxes online.

Background of OLTAS

OLTAS was implemented in 3 phases, and 32 public and private sector banks were authorised under OLTAS. Initially, the purpose of OLTAS was limited to storing data that was related to tax. However, post-April 2005, banks were also required to merge daily tax collection with the information and data that TIN received from the banks.

The Income-tax Department has introduced a robust system that is very user-friendly. The taxpayer can do with a single copy challan - cum - acknowledgement form instead of the four-copy challan. Each challan will receive a unique Challan Identification Number (CIN). This comprises the BSR (Bank branch code), Challan Tender Date (cash/cheque deposit date), and Challan Serial Number. The CIN will uniquely identify a payment enabling online transmission of details of tax payments by banks to the Income Tax department.

Then the NSDL-established Tax Information Network (TIN) provides a facility for the taxpayers to inquire about the status of their challans over the Internet. Taxpayers have to log on through https://www.tin-nsdl.com/ to view whether TIN receives the challan for the tax payments.

OLTAS Payments Online

OLTAS is a system that accommodates collecting, reporting, and accounting for different types of direct taxes under one platform. One of the features of the OLTAS is the ability to make online tax payments through the OLTAS portal. The procedure is simple, and it is as follows:

• Step 1: Visit the official website at https://www.tin-nsdl.com/
• Step 2: Use the drop-down menu to select the 'e-payment: Pay Taxes Online' option under the 'Services' tab
• Step 3: Selection will take you to the payment portal for you to choose the relevant Challan number for the type of payment you are making
• Step 4: Choose the major head code under the 'Taxes applicable' head
• Step 5: Enter the Assessment Year and PAN in the designated fields on the form
• Step 6: Display of data relevant to the PAN you have entered will appear
• Step 7: Enter the details asked for
• Step 8: Select the applicable minor head code under the 'Type of Payment' sub-head
• Step 9: Select your preferred mode of payment from 'Net Banking' and 'Debit Card' and choose the name of your bank from the drop-down box
• Step 10: Complete the payment process following the steps appearing on the screen

To use the OLTAS TDS Challan, taxpayers must first register themselves on the TIN NSDL website. After registering, taxpayers can log in to the website and select the option for making payment of TDS. They will then be directed to the relevant page.

After the payment is successful, you will receive a receipt for the payment. This receipt can be used as proof of payment of TDS.

Salient Feature of OLTAS

The salient feature of OLTAS is as follows:

• Convenience of a single copy OLTAS TDS challan with tear off taxpayer’s counterfoil
• Use of common coded single challan for various types of tax payment
• Tax payment can be made from bank branches offering OLTAS or online using different modes
• Issue of acknowledgment and unique serial number known as Challan Identification Number (CIN)
• Convenience of making challan status enquiry
• Notifying the CIN is sufficient, along with tax returns, without the need for attaching challan
• In case of cash payment at the bank, a tear-off portion from the challan is given to the taxpayer, which contains an official CIN generated, which serves as your acknowledgment
• Collecting bank will capture the data of the challan and electronically transmit it to the Income-tax Department
• The Income-tax Department will use the data received to credit the payment details to the relevant CIN, completing the loop
• Website is always available to furnish challan status enquiry any time

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an OLTAS transaction?

Any transaction made on the OLTAS system is an OLTAS transaction. Suppose you are a bank, taxpayer, or income-tax employee dealing with tax payments. In that case, you will encounter an OLTAS transaction as a tax payment online or via a bank

What is the OLTAS Challan correction?

The TDSCPC provides the functionality on the OLTAS to make corrections to challans via the OLTAS correction challan

What are the advantages of OLTAS?

According to the income-tax website, the following are the advantages of OLTAS:

• You can pay taxes from any location at any time through your net-banking account
• Instant transfer of funds from your account
• What you write on the e-challan will be directly sent to Income Tax Department. Banks will not do any data entry
• You can save/print the challan copy and the receipt copy
• As soon as your Bank authorises payment of the amount, you will receive a clear, legible receipt/counterfoil from your Bank
• Transaction id of the e-payment transaction will be available to you in your bank statement
• You can check online if your money has reached the I-T Department. For this, you have to go to Tax Information Network Website: https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/index.html and click the box

What are the features of OLTAS?

Some of the salient features of OLTAS are as follows:

• The details of the tax that has been paid are available online
• A unique serial number in the form of a Challan Identification Number (CIN) serving as an acknowledgment number will be provided
• Taxes can be paid online or at any of the bank branches that come under OLTAS
• A single copy challan has been introduced, with tear off taxpayer’s counterfoil
• A single and common challan but with different codes are used for income-tax and corporate taxes, direct taxes like wealth tax, gift tax, estate duty, hotel receipts tax, securities transactions tax, expenditure tax, Banking Cash Transaction Tax, and Fringe Benefits Tax, payment of equalization levy, payment under Income Declaration Scheme, 2016, payment under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana, 2016 (PMGKY)
• The collecting bank will capture the entire data of the challan and transmit it electronically to the Income-tax Department
• The CIN is proof that tax has been paid, which can be informed to the tax authorities without the need to attach challans