In good news for lakhs of taxpayers awaiting their IT refunds, the
government has directed the taxman to "expeditiously" settle claims
involving less than Rs 50,000
According to government data, over Rs 5,400 crore is locked in pending refunds, which has become a major grievance for taxpayers
Officials said instructions in this regard were issued early this week after a review meeting was held by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia with senior CBDT officials as part of Finance Ministry's drive to ensure a taxpayer-friendly regime following a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for steps to address their grievances and cut down on complaints.
The directive issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy-making body of the Income Tax department, to all Principal Chief Commissioners asks them to direct the assessing officers to expedite the process and issue refunds of less than Rs 50,000 and not facing scrutiny "as early as possible."
As per the order, also accessed by PTI, as of November 1, refunds have to be made on 2.07 lakh IT returns involving Rs 659 crore for Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14 and another set of 12.90 lakh returns pertaining to Rs 4,837 crore for AY 2014-15 which are pending.
The total amount involved is Rs 5,496 crore and a large number of refunds are for less than Rs 50,000 and constitute about 70-80 per cent of the total kitty of pending refunds for the two AYs, a senior official said.
According to government data, over Rs 5,400 crore is locked in pending refunds, which has become a major grievance for taxpayers
Officials said instructions in this regard were issued early this week after a review meeting was held by Revenue Secretary Hasmukh Adhia with senior CBDT officials as part of Finance Ministry's drive to ensure a taxpayer-friendly regime following a call by Prime Minister Narendra Modi for steps to address their grievances and cut down on complaints.
The directive issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the apex policy-making body of the Income Tax department, to all Principal Chief Commissioners asks them to direct the assessing officers to expedite the process and issue refunds of less than Rs 50,000 and not facing scrutiny "as early as possible."
As per the order, also accessed by PTI, as of November 1, refunds have to be made on 2.07 lakh IT returns involving Rs 659 crore for Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14 and another set of 12.90 lakh returns pertaining to Rs 4,837 crore for AY 2014-15 which are pending.
The total amount involved is Rs 5,496 crore and a large number of refunds are for less than Rs 50,000 and constitute about 70-80 per cent of the total kitty of pending refunds for the two AYs, a senior official said.
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