PhonePe launches feature to pay income tax

Digital payments and fintech platform PhonePe on Monday launched a feature to pay income tax through its app.

Individuals and businesses can pay self-assessment and advance tax through UPI or credit card via the application, without logging into the income tax portal, PhonePe said.

The amount will be credited to the tax portal within two working days.

Users can pay taxes by logging into the app and selecting the "income tax" icon. Then, they must select the type of tax to be paid, assessment year and Permanent Account Number (PAN) details. After entering the total tax amount, users will be able to pay using the chosen mode of payment.

Taxpayers will receive a Unique Transaction Reference (UTR) number as an acknowledgement within one working day after paying the tax while challan for the payment will be available within two working days, it added.

Niharika Saigal, Head of Bill Payments and Recharge Business at PhonePe said, “Paying taxes can often be a complex and time-consuming task, and PhonePe is now offering its users a hassle-free and secure way to fulfill their tax obligations...this will transform the way our users pay taxes as we have now made the process both simple and easy.”

PhonePe has partnered with digital B2B payments service provider PayMate for enabling the feature.

Started in 2015, the Walmart subsidiary was recently separated from its e-commerce sibling Flipkart. PhonePe has about 50 crore registered users and processes 45 per cent of transactions on Bharat Bill Pay System (BBPS). The company became a fintech in 2017 and launched mutual funds and insurance products.