Is Submission of Physical Copy a Must when Returns are filed Online

[Srivatsan Krishnamachari]

 

Dear Gentlemen,

We are a large Tax payer Unit and hence have been filing  monthly returns online on or before 10th of the succeding month. The Department officials insist for submission of Physical Copies of the Returns too. My Query is once it becomes mandatory on an LTU for filing E-Returns; is it a must that a Physical copy also to be submitted.

Please enlighten with your clarification.

Regards,

K.Srivatsan

AI Summary

Submission of physical copies of e-filed returns is not legally required; departments may request them for scrutiny.
There is no legal requirement to submit a physical copy once central excise returns are filed online; Trade Notice No. 01/2009-2010 (Delhi) supports that online filing removes the need for hard-copy submission. Departments may request printed copies for scrutiny or administrative convenience, but such requests are procedural and do not create a statutory obligation; voluntary submission is permissible to aid review.