The time is drawing near…

Yes, it’s that time of year once again. The time when employers and employees alike are frantically rushing to get their affairs in order. It’s time to submit your taxes! This year, I thought that I would give e-Filing a shot. After all, I do work in an industry that promotes a paper-less environment, it seems like something I should try (the deadline is 30th of April, and if you’re thinking of using e-Filing, I recommend you to do it soon, otherwise the website may go down towards the end of the period due to the heavy traffic).

Anyway, in my defense, I did get my PIN number two years ago. When I tried to login, it returned with an error. When I called their Helpline, it was busy all the time, so I didn’t bother anymore. Last year, again the line was too busy to get my PIN number (procrastination is the key!). Anyway, this year, I made sure to call early so that the line wouldn’t be flooded by fellow procrastinators. So, for those of you who have yet to make the leap to e-Filing, here are the steps that you need to follow.

1. Get your PIN Number (you can call their toll-free line at 1-300-88-3010) and make sure you have your EA form at hand for verification purposes.

2. Go to the LHDN website and click on First Time Login. Enter your Pin Number and your IC number, and then key in some basic information. Hmm, it’s only Step 2, and I already encountered a problem!

And you wonder why more people don’t use e-Filing! This involves your taxes, you would expect to have a fool-proof system which is really secure!

3. Anyway, I continued onwards in hope that the error wasn’t anything serious. Next, I clicked on the e-Form login, and found out that I needed to register a Digital Certificate first. OK, so I clicked on the link they gave, and had to fill in the same information as Step 2! Once successful, I found out that the Digital Certificate expires in three days. So, if I don’t want to do the whole process all over again, I need to complete the form soon.

4. Clicked on e-Forms Login again, chose the e-BE form for Individuals, and finally managed to fill in my details. I’m not done yet, so I can’t tell you what happens next!

My comments on e-Filing? I certainly applaud the move to shift to e-Filing, it is something that is very necessary. But have we been provided with a good system to use? I think not. Errors on the website certainly do not instill confidence in an individual, especially over something as crucial as your taxes. Furthermore, while filling up the form, the time to load a page is very long. I even managed to walk to the office pantry, wash a plate, wash my hands and come back to my table without the page loading!

So, buck up, LHDN! Please provide us with a new, improved system by the time next year rolls around and we need to file our taxes once again.