Introduction: In the ever-evolving landscape of fiscal governance, the Income Tax Department has emerged as a vanguard of efficiency and innovation, showcasing a series of remarkable milestones in recent times. This detailed analysis delves into the multifaceted achievements, ranging from robust growth in direct tax collections and expeditious refund mechanisms to record-breaking income tax return (ITR) filings. The department’s unwavering commitment to taxpayer facilitation is evident through initiatives like pre-filling of ITRs, active helpdesk support, and the introduction of user-friendly platforms such as TIN 2.0 for e-payment of taxes. As we navigate through the intricacies of these achievements, it becomes evident that the Income Tax Department is not just a revenue-collecting entity but a dynamic force driving transformative changes in India’s tax administration landscape.
Page Contents
- 1. Steady growth in Direct Tax collections
- 2. Speedy issue of Refunds
- 3. Achievement in Income Tax Return (ITR) Filings
- 4. Updated Returns
- 5. Pre-filling of ITR Expanded
- 6. Milestones in ITR Processing
- 7. Beneficial initiatives for Taxpayer facilitation
- 8. Taxpayer Outreach Programme
- 9. Active Helpdesk to assist taxpayers:
- 10. Ease of Doing Business for Start Ups
- 11. New ePay Tax platform TIN 2.0 for Taxpayers
- 12. New Initiatives in AIS Module to facilitate Taxpayers
- 13. Payment of Taxes Report
- 14. Facility for filing online form related to TDS
- 15. Revamped National Website of Income Tax Department
- 16. Faceless Processes
- 17. Demand management Facilitation centre (DFC)
1. Steady growth in Direct Tax collections
- Gross collections in FY 2023-24, at Rs.12.67 lakh crore are 17.7% higher than the gross collections for the corresponding period of the preceding year.
- Net collections in FY 2023-24, at Rs.10.64 lakh crore are 23.4% higher than the net collections for the corresponding period of the preceding year.
- 58.34% of Budget Estimates for FY. 2023-24 already achieved
2. Speedy issue of Refunds
- Refunds amounting to Rs. 2.03 lakh crore issued between 1st April, 2023 to 30th November, 2023.
- Special initiative was taken in case of 35 lakh refund failed cases of all AYS and refund was issued to validated bank account.
- Enablement of TIN 2.0 resulted in quick issue of refunds. More than 3 crore refunds have been credited using TIN 2.0 with an error rate of 0.002%.
- Highest number of refunds issued in a single day is 14 lakh.
3. Achievement in Income Tax Return (ITR) Filings
- 797 crore ITRs filed for all AYs till 30.11.2023
- 7.76 crore ITRs filed for A.Y. 2023-24 till 3031.2023
- Highest filing of ITRs in one day 64.33 lakh ITRs filed on 31st July, 2023
- Maximum ITRs filed in a month 5.5 crore ITRs filed in July, 2023
- ITR filing per second : 486 (At 4:35 pm on 31st July, 2023)
- ITR filing per minute: 8,622 (at 5:54 pm on 31st July, 2023)
- ITR filing per hour: 4,96,559 (between 5PM to 6PM on 31st July, 2023)
4. Updated Returns
- Updated Returns facility was introduced by Finance Act, 2022 to facilitate taxpayers to update their returns within two years from the end of the relevant assessment year, subject to prescribed conditions.
- Upto 30th November, 2023, over 44.76 lakh Updated returns have been filed, resulting in additional tax collection of over Rs.4000 crore.
5. Pre-filling of ITR Expanded
Income Tax Department boosts Ease of Compliance with smoother and faster filing of ITRs. ITRs with pre-filled data expanded to include salary, interest, dividend, TDS-related information, brought forward losses, MAT credit, etc.
- A substantial portion of the ITRs are pre-filled with data pertaining to the taxpayers’ profile.
- Pre-filling has been expanded to include information on salary, interest, dividend and tax payments including TDS related information, brought forward losses, MAT credit etc to ease compliance for taxpayers.
- The taxpayers used this facility extensively resulting in smoother and faster filing of ITRs
- Total Number of fields pre-filled across all ITR Forms 1-7: 2469
6. Milestones in ITR Processing
- More than 743 crore ITRs for A.Y. 2023-24 processed including 3.26 crore ITRs in which refunds were claimed.
- More than 1.66 crore ITRs for A.Y. 2023-24 were processed in a single day.
- Average processing time reduced from 16 days (FY. 2022-23) to 10 days (FY. 2023-24).
- Approximately 23% of ITRs were processed within 24 hours of filing.
- More than 3.43 crore ITRs which is 43% of ITRs processed within 7 days of filing.
7. Beneficial initiatives for Taxpayer facilitation
- Circular No. 19/2023-Income Tax issued for Condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for extending due date for filing of Form 10-IC for AY 2021-22 till 31.01.2024.
- Circular No. 13/2023-Income Tax issued for condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) authorizing CCsIT/DGsIT to deal with applications pertaining to returns of income claiming deduction u/s 80P of the Act for assessment years AY 2018-19 to AY 2022-23.
8. Taxpayer Outreach Programme
- Campaigns on social media along with targeted email and MIS campaigns were launched to encourage the taxpayers to file their ITRs early and also to create awareness among them about important tax compliance dates and processes.
- During current FY more than 50 crore targeted emails and 51 crore targeted SMSs have been sent to taxpayers to create awareness and provide guidance to them on various issues such as Aadhaar-PAN linking, ITR filing and other statutory filing, Bank validation issues, digital signature certificate, e-Verification of ITR etc.
- Educational videos/ tutorial and banners to guide the taxpayers.
9. Active Helpdesk to assist taxpayers:
- The e-filing Helpdesk team which worked in extended business hours and on 24×7 basis in last few days of peak filing period, has handled approximately 5 lakh queries from taxpayers in the month of July 2023.
- The support from the helpdesk was provided to taxpayers through inbound calls, outbound calls, live chats, WebEx and co-browsing sessions.
- The Helpdesk also supported resolution of queries received on the Twitter handle of the Department through extensive Online Response Management (ORM) by proactively reaching out to the taxpayers and assisting them on near real time basis
10. Ease of Doing Business for Start Ups
Cases where start-up companies have been selected for scrutiny on the single issue of applicability of Section 56(2)(viib), no verification to be done of such issues in consonance with CBDT Letter F.No.173/149/2019-ITA-1 dtd 10.10.2023.
11. New ePay Tax platform TIN 2.0 for Taxpayers
- TIN 2.0 made available on e-filing portal wef 01.04.23: A new e-pay tax payment platform TIN 2.0 was made available on the e-filing portal replacing the erstwhile OLTAS based payment system (from 01.04.2023, the entire tax payment has shifted to TIN 2.0).
- User-friendly options: This enabled the provision of user-friendly options for e-payment of taxes which currently include Internet Banking, NEFT/RTGS, OTC, Debit Cards, payment gateway, and UPI,
- The number of banks onboarded on TIN 2.0 is higher than ever before giving taxpayers a wider choice of banks for payment of taxes.
- Same day credit of refund possible.
12. New Initiatives in AIS Module to facilitate Taxpayers
- AIS utility with modify feedback functionality enabled – To facilitate taxpayers to modify earlier feedback through the utility.
- AIS homepage on Compliance portal provides a bird’s eye view of all the functionalities available on the Compliance portal – increased convenience for users
- New attributes for the “Tax Payments” section in AIS – Certain attributes like BSR code, Challan serial number etc were added to facilitate the taxpayer in filing ITRs.
- PAN- Aadhaar linking status display on AIS Status is displayed in the ‘O’ icon provided besides PAN number – ease of compliance.
- Information Confirmation Functionality-To share taxpayers feedback on information gathered with information source and to take confirmation on taxpayers feedback/response.
13. Payment of Taxes Report
A new report related to the tax payments made by the taxpayer for a given Assessment year is made available under the ‘Reports’ section on Compliance portal which provides a consolidated summary of all the taxes paid for the given Assessment year
With online form for TDS, it is another step towards achieving goals of Digital India. All the forms for application for deduction of tax at lower or nil rate can now be filed electronically and are processed electronically
15. Revamped National Website of Income Tax Department
- Revamped National website Launched – www.incometaxindia.gov.in
- The website Serves as a comprehensive repository of tax and other related information.
- The site also offers a ‘Taxpayer Service Module’ featuring various tax tools to assist taxpayer in filling their ITRs.
- Dynamic due date alert functionality provides reserve countdowns, tools tips and links to relevant portals.
- It provides access to Direct Tax Laws, Allied Acts, Rules, Income Tax Circulars and Notification all cross referenced and hyperlinked.
- Aesthetically redesigned with a mobile – responsive layout.
- Mega menu available for content
- Guided virtual tour for new features
16. Faceless Processes
- One of the key achievements of ITD has been the enablement of the Faceless regime.
- The Process of Faceless assessment, penalty & apples has been continuously streamlined with issue of SOPs, provision of video -conferencing & dedicated emails for grievance redressal.
- Transparent, efficient & convenient faceless administration.
- Over 4.58 lakh cases completed under Faceless Assessment, 4.80 lakh under Faceless Penalties and 2.25 lakh under Faceless Appeals.
No. of Faceless Assessment completed | 4.58lakh |
No. of Faceless Faceless Penalties disposes | 4.80lakh |
No. of Faceless Faceless Appeals disposes | 2.25lakh |
17. Demand management Facilitation centre (DFC)
- A Demand management Facilitation Centre (DFC) has been up at Mysuru Karnataka.
- The objective of the DFC is to Facilitate to resolve their outstanding demands.
- Calls made to the taxpayers from 86166781200 to facilitate the taxpayer to reduce their demands by rectification.
- Dedicated helpline number and email ID: Taxpayer can call the DFC on the number: 1800 309 0130. Mails are sent from the mail ID: [email protected]
- A total of 1,46,385 demands have been reduce resulting in a reduction of demand of Rs. 3,57,858 crore.
Conclusion: The achievements in income tax milestones reflect a proactive and efficient tax administration committed to enhancing compliance, facilitating taxpayers, and embracing digital solutions. The consistent growth in collections, streamlined processes, and initiatives for ease of doing business underscore the department’s commitment to fostering a taxpayer-friendly environment.