New Delhi, Feb. 9: In a matter of months, you may be able to file income-tax returns at any time and from anywhere, even your home.

By March-April this year, the country’s 745 income-tax offices will be connected under a central network linked to a national data centre, the government announced today.

The first phase of the Rs 240-crore “Taxnet” project, connecting 170 offices, is already complete, Central Board of Direct Taxes member J.G. Pendse told reporters.

The national data centre ? which will store information relating to PAN, tax returns and TDS ? may get functional by the end of June.

The new system will allow taxpayers ? even those in small towns ? to file their returns electronically from their homes or offices. It will speed up processing and refunds, and increase efficiency.

Pendse hoped it would improve collections, too. “When filing of returns is no longer a tedious exercise, the tax compliance is naturally expected to improve.”

For instance, if a taxpayer now moves from one city to another, filing of returns in the new city involves quite a bit of red tape. The new system will make it hassle-free.

The income-tax department now allows returns to be filed over the Internet, through intermediaries, in 60 cities.

After the national data centre comes up, the role of the intermediaries would be reviewed, Pendse said.

The director-general of income-tax (systems), V.S. Mathur, allayed fears that once electronic filing becomes possible, people’s income-tax data could be leaked to private companies.

Airtel Enterprises Services, a division of Bharti Tele-Ventures Limited, is implementing the Taxnet project in partnership with technology solutions major IBM on a build-own-operate basis.

“It will also be possible to provide video-conferencing facility,” said Akhil Gupta, joint managing director of Bharti Tele-Ventures.

The income-tax offices will be connected using a combination of fibre, copper and broadband VSATs.

The income-tax department has received bids from Tata Consultancy Services, Wipro and IBM for setting up the data centre, Pendse said.