CBDT chairman Nitin Gupta said over Rs 40 crore income tax returns have been lodged so far for the 2022-23 financial year, more than half of which have been processed, resulting in the release of Rs 80 crore refunds
Post Date – 11:00 PM, Monday – July 24
New Delhi: Over Rs 4 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been lodged so far for the 2022-23 financial year, more than half of which have been processed, resulting in the disbursement of Rs 8 crore tax refunds, CBDT Chairman Nitin Gupta said on Monday.
Gupta also said that “shortages of human resources at all levels are hindering our efforts to achieve better results”, and he urged the federal finance minister to “quickly approve” the department’s cadre restructuring proposal.
He was speaking at an event here to mark the 164th Income Tax Day.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the governing body for the IT sector.
Gupta said direct tax collection, including personal income tax and corporate tax, has been making “remarkable” progress, with the department collecting more than Rs 1,661 crore in 2022-23, 17.67 per cent higher than the previous year.
He said the collection “exceeded” the budget and the government’s revised estimates for revenue collection under the direct tax category, a testament to the hard work of our cadres.
“Last year our current growth rate was 16% (direct taxation). We filed income tax returns of Rs 7.78 crore in 2022-23, which is 6.5% higher than the previous year,” said the CBDT chief.
So far this year, more than Rs 40 crore ITRs have been lodged, which is four days earlier than last time, he said.
Gupta said more than 50 percent of returns have been processed and more than $8 million in refunds issued this year.
There is one week left until July 31, the deadline for filing ITRs for different categories of taxpayers.
He said the department was working on guidelines set out by the Treasurer to ensure “faster processing of returns and prompt issuance of refunds”.
‘We’ve reduced ITR processing time to just 16 days, and during the last fiscal year, more than 42 percent of ITRs were processed in one day,’ he said.
The chairman of the CBDT said the tax authority was “closely monitoring” taxpayer grievances.
Gupta seeks “forgiveness” from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to address “manpower shortages at all levels (departments) which are hindering our efforts to achieve better results” “…for a progressive tax system, we need to strengthen not only our infrastructure but also our human capital. The quick approval of our cadre reshuffle will be a useful step towards this goal.”
