As many as 6.98 crore tax returns have been filed for income earned in 2022-23 fiscal and out of them, more than 6 crore filings have been processed, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on Tuesday.
The CBDT — the apex decision making body in matters of income and corporate taxes — said the department is not able to process certain Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for want of certain information/action on the part of taxpayers.
Of the total ITRs filed, about 14 lakh are yet to be verified by taxpayers while the department has sought further information from another 12 lakh taxpayers, for which requisite communication has been sent through their e-filing accounts.
Besides, certain ITR filers are yet to validate their bank accounts.
”As on September 5, 6.98 crore ITRs for Assessment Year 2023-24 have been filed, of which 6.84 crore have been verified. Of these, more than 6 crore ITRs, or 88 per cent of the total verified ITRs, have been processed,” the CBDT said in a statement.
Refunds have been issued for more than 2.45 crore filers for AY 2023-24.
The average processing time of ITRs after verification has been reduced to 10 days for returns filed for AY 2023-24 compared to 82 days for AY 2019-20 and 16 days for AY 2022-23.
”The Income Tax Department is committed to processing the ITRs in a speedy and efficient manner,” the CBDT said.
With regard to 14 lakh ITRs, which are yet to be verified, the CBDT said failure to verify the returns causes delays. A tax return filed can only be taken up for processing once the verification has been completed by the taxpayer.
”Taxpayers are urged to complete the verification process immediately,” it said.
The CBDT has sought a speedy response from the 12 lakh taxpayers from whom additional information has been sought.
”There are several cases in which the ITRs have been processed and refunds have also been determined but the department is unable to issue them as taxpayers have not yet validated their bank account in which the refund is to be credited.
”Taxpayers are requested to validate their bank accounts through the e-filing portal,” the CBDT added.