Income tax refunds were issued by the Income Tax department this fiscal to 24.64 lakh taxpayers, which amounted to Rs. 88,652 crores.
The Central Government has emphasized providing hassle-free tax-related services to the taxpayers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and hence pending tax refunds are being cleared up by the central government. All the pending income tax refunds up to rupees 5 lakh were planed to issue by the Ministry of Finance in April.
Corporate tax refunds of rupees 60,472 crores where issue 1.58 lakh taxpayers and Personal Income Tax (PIT) refunds of rupees 28,180 crores were issued to 23.05 lakh taxpayers during this period.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), via a tweet, informed that from 1st April 2020 onwards, Income tax refunds worth ₹28,180 crores were issued to 23,05,726 cases and corporate tax refunds worth ₹60,472 crores were issued to 1,58,280 cases.
The apex decision-making body in the matters related to direct tax and administration of personal income tax and corporate tax matters is the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). The deadline for filing original and revised income tax (I-T) returns for FY19 was extended till September 30 by the Center on July 29. The two months extension was given for the third time for the fiscal by the Central Government to mitigate the hardships faced by the people during the financial crisis caused by COVID-19 Pandemic.
The primary aim of the Income Tax department is to provide liquidity to taxpayers and hence, have quickened the refund issuance process. Direct bank credit within 5 to 7 business days is made to the bank account of the taxpayer eligible for a refund claim up to rupees 5 lakh. The tax refunds are generally issued around a month after the processing of the Income Tax return. The refunds are processed by the Centralized Processing Centre within 2O to 45 days of completion of processing of Income Tax returns.
In case of a mismatch between the details available with the department and the ITR filed, refunds are withheld by the Income Tax department. The status of a tax refund can be checked by logging-in on the e-filing portal of the Income Tax department.
