The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has launched an online chat service for income taxpayers to enable them to seek answers to their queries relating to direct tax issues.

The Income Tax Department's website now hosts a "Live Chat" window which takes questions on tax matters from Monday to Friday between 10 a.m and 5 p.m.
The chat responses are based on the opinion of experts and should not be regarded as official clarifications, says a note appearing at the start of the online chat.

"The replies are based on the opinion of the expert and in no manner it should be interpreted as the clarification by the Income Tax Department on any matter," it says.