The Ministry of Finance has announced a new milestone in the filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the Assessment Year (AY) 2024-25. By the 31st of July, 2024, over 7.28 crore ITRs were filed, marking a significant 7.5% increase from the previous year’s filings. This surge highlights the growing compliance and participation of taxpayers in India, further evidenced by the substantial shift towards the New Tax Regime.
Detailed Analysis
Record-Breaking Filings The total number of ITRs filed for AY 2024-25 has set a new record, reaching over 7.28 crore. This surpasses the previous year’s figure of 6.77 crore, indicating a robust growth in taxpayer participation. On the peak filing day, July 31, 2024, more than 69.92 lakh ITRs were submitted, showcasing the efficiency and capacity of the e-filing system.
New vs. Old Tax Regime A significant trend observed this year is the preference for the New Tax Regime. Out of the 7.28 crore ITRs filed, 5.27 crore were under the New Tax Regime, which constitutes approximately 72% of the total filings. In contrast, the Old Tax Regime accounted for only 2.01 crore ITRs, or 28%, highlighting a clear shift in taxpayer preference towards the more simplified New Tax Regime.
First-Time Filers The number of first-time ITR filers also saw a notable increase, with 58.57 lakh new taxpayers joining the system by the end of July 2024. This expansion in the tax base is a positive indicator of increased financial inclusion and awareness among the populace.
Efficiency of the E-Filing Portal The e-filing portal demonstrated exceptional performance during the peak period, handling high traffic seamlessly. On July 31, 2024, the portal recorded 3.2 crore successful logins and achieved the highest per-hour filing rate of 5.07 lakh ITRs between 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM. The highest per second filing rate was 917 on July 17, 2024, at 8:13:54 AM, and the highest per minute rate was 9,367 on July 31, 2024, at 8:08 PM.
Breakdown of ITR Types The distribution of ITR types filed is as follows: ITR-1 (45.77% or 3.34 crore), ITR-2 (14.93% or 1.09 crore), ITR-3 (12.50% or 91.10 lakh), ITR-4 (25.77% or 1.88 crore), and ITR-5 to ITR-7 (1.03% or 7.48 lakh). Moreover, 43.82% of these returns were filed using the online ITR utility on the e-filing portal, with the remaining 56.18% filed using offline utilities.
E-Verification and Processing E-verification is crucial for processing ITRs and issuing refunds. By July 31, 2024, over 6.21 crore ITRs had been e-verified, with 93.56% of these verifications completed using Aadhaar-based OTP. Additionally, more than 2.69 crore ITRs for AY 2024-25 have been processed, amounting to 43.34% of the e-verified returns.
Helpdesk and Support The e-filing Helpdesk has played a vital role in supporting taxpayers, handling approximately 10.64 lakh queries up to July 31, 2024. The team provided assistance through various channels, including calls, live chats, WebEx, and co-browsing sessions. Furthermore, the Helpdesk resolved over 1.07 lakh emails with a remarkable 99.97% query resolution rate.
Educational and Outreach Initiatives The Ministry of Finance undertook extensive outreach campaigns to educate taxpayers about the filing process and the differences between the Old and New Tax Regimes. These included FAQs, educational videos, and creative campaigns across social media and other platforms. Informational videos in 12 vernacular languages, in addition to English and Hindi, were deployed to ensure wider reach.
Conclusion
The record-breaking number of ITR filings for AY 2024-25 is a testament to the efficiency of the e-filing system and the proactive efforts of the Ministry of Finance. The substantial shift towards the New Tax Regime, the inclusion of first-time filers, and the successful handling of peak traffic all highlight the progress made in India’s tax compliance landscape. The Ministry continues to urge taxpayers to verify their returns and complete any pending filings promptly to ensure smooth processing and issuance of refunds.
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Ministry of Finance
Record 7.28 crore ITRs filed for AY 2024-25 till 31st July, 2024
5.27 crore ITRs filed in New Tax Regime for AY 2024-25
Over 69.92 lakh ITRs filed on a single day on 31st July, 2024
58.57 lakh first time filers of ITRs till 31.07.2024
Posted On: 02 AUG 2024 2
The taxpayers and tax professionals made their compliances in time, leading to a surge in filing of Income-tax Returns (ITRs), which resulted in a new record of ITRs filed till 31st July 2024. The total number of ITRs for AY 2024-25 filed till 31st July, 2024 is more than 7.28 crore, which is 7.5% more than the total ITRs for AY 2023-24 (6.77 crore) filed till 31st July, 2023.
An increasing number of taxpayers have opted for the New Tax Regime this year. Out of the total ITRs of 7.28 crore filed for AY 2024-25, 5.27 crore have been filed in the New Tax Regime compared to 2.01 crore ITRs filed in the Old Tax Regime. Thus, about 72% of taxpayers have opted for the New Tax Regime, while 28% continue to be in the Old Tax Regime.
The filing of ITRs peaked on 31st July, 2024 (due date for salaried taxpayers and other non-tax audit cases) with over 69.92 lakh ITRs being filed on a single day i.e. on 31st July, 2024. The e-filing portal also observed its highest per hour rate of 5.07 lakh of ITR filing between 07:00 pm to 08:00 pm on 31.07.2024. The highest per second rate of ITR filing was 917 (17.07.2024, 08:13:54 am) and highest per minute rate of ITR filing was 9,367 (31.07.2024, 08:08 pm).
The Department also received 58.57 lakh ITRs till 31.07.2024 from first time filers, a fair indication of widening of tax base.
In a historic first, ITRs (ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4, ITR-6) were deployed on the e-filing portal on the first day of the Financial Year ie on 01.04.2024. The ITR-3 and ITR-5 were also released earlier in comparison with the preceding financial years. A lot of emphasis was provided to educate taxpayers about Old and New tax regimes. FAQs and educational Videos on the same were designed and uploaded on the e-filing portal.
Focussed outreach campaigns were carried out on Social Media to encourage the taxpayers to file their ITRs early. Along with this, unique creative campaigns were also carried out on different platforms. Informational Videos in 12 Vernacular languages, apart from English and Hindi, were displayed on digital platforms. Outdoor campaigns were also carried out. Such concerted efforts led to fruitful results with increased number of filings. The following data of ITR filing over the last few years corroborates the same:
| AY | Due date | No of Returns filed |
| 2020-21 | 10/01/2021 | 5,78,45,678 |
| 2021-22 | 31/12/2021 | 5,77,39,682 |
| 2022-23 | 31/07/2022 | 5,82,88,692 |
| 2023-24 | 31/07/2023 | 6,77,42,303 |
| 2024-25 | 31/07/2024 | 7,28,80,318 |
Out of the 7.28 crore ITRs filed for A.Y. 2024-25, 45.77% of ITRs are ITR-1 (3.34 crore), 14.93% are ITR-2 (1.09 crore), 12.50% are ITR-3 (91.10 lakh), 25.77% are ITR-4 (1.88 crore) and 1.03% are ITR-5 to ITR-7 (7.48 lakh). Over 43.82% of these ITRs have been filed using the online ITR utility available on the e-filing portal and the balance have been filed using offline ITR utilities.
During the peak filing period, the e-filing portal successfully handled huge traffic, providing a seamless experience to taxpayers for filing of ITRs. On 31st July, 2024 alone, successful logins stood at 3.2 crore.
The process of e-verification is important to commence the processing of ITRs and to issue refunds, if any. It is encouraging to note that over 6.21 crore ITRs have been e-verified, out of which more than 5.81 crore are through Aadhaar based OTP (93.56%). Of the e-verified ITRs, more than 2.69 crore ITRs for the A.Y. 2024-2025 have been processed (43.34%) till 31st July, 2024. Over 91.94 lakh challans have been received through TIN 2.0 payment system in the month of July, 2024 (for AY 2024-25), while total number of challans filed through TIN 2.0 since 1st April, 2024 stands at 1.64 crore (for AY 2024-25).
The e-filing Helpdesk team has handled approximately 10.64 lakh queries from taxpayers during the year upto 31.07.2024, supporting the taxpayers proactively during the peak filing period. Support from the helpdesk was provided to taxpayers through inbound and outbound calls, live chats, WebEx and co-browsing sessions.
Helpdesk team also supported resolution of queries received on the X(Twitter) handle of the Department through Online Response Management (ORM), by proactively reaching out to the taxpayers/ stakeholders and assisting them for different issues on a near real-time basis. The team handled over 1.07 lakh e-mails between the period 1st April to 31st July, 2024 and successfully resolved 99.97% queries.
The Department expresses its gratitude to tax professionals and taxpayers for their support in compliances in filing of ITRs and Forms. Taxpayers are also requested to verify their unverified ITRs if any, within 30 days of filing the ITR.
The Department also urges taxpayers, who for any reason, missed filing their ITR within the due date, to complete their filing expeditiously.
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