The Income Tax (IT) Department, on Saturday, September 23, asked taxpayers to respond to the intimation from the IT Department. The intimation has been served regarding outstanding demands of previous years to facilitate faster clearance of refunds for the 2022-23 fiscal year.

The IT Department tweeted, “The Income Tax Department is making every effort to complete the processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and issuance of refunds expeditiously.” According to the department, 7.09 crore returns have been filed for the assessment Year 2023-24. Among these returns, 6.96 crore ITRs have been verified, of which 6.46 crore returns have been processed as of date including 2.75 crore refund returns. The department mentions that they are emphasising the speedy processing and the quick issue of refunds. “However, there are a few cases in which refunds are due to the taxpayer, but previous demands are outstanding”, the tweet reads.

The tweet further reads that Section 245(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, mandates providing an opportunity for the taxpayer to make a representation before adjusting the refund against an existing demand. The taxpayer is required to agree, disagree, or clarify the status of that demand. Accordingly, taxpayers with existing demand(s) in the previous years are also being informed of the same. The department also informs that this is a taxpayer-friendly measure where an opportunity is being provided in line with the principles of natural justice. Taxpayers have been requested to utilise this opportunity and respond to such intimations to enable the cleaning up/reconciliation of pending demands. It will also help in the facilitation of the timely issue of refunds.

According to a report published in PTI, the net direct tax collection increased 23.51 per cent to over Rs 8.65 lakh crore till mid-September on higher advance tax mop-up from corporates. The net collections have reached 47.45 per cent of the full-year budget estimates (BE) of Rs 18.23 lakh crore. The steady growth in tax collection was helped by a 21 per cent growth in advance tax mop-up. September 15 was the last date for paying the second instalment of advance tax for 2023-24.

Source By: news18

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