The income tax department has issued a warning to the assessees against making bogus claims, since the due date for filing ITR for AY 2024-25 approaches July 31. The department advises that inflating expenses, underreporting earnings, or exaggerating deductions is a punishable offence and may result in delays in refund issuance.
Till Now Over Five Crore ITRs Filed
As per the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), more than 5 crore Income tax returns have been filed as of July 26. The income tax department has asked the assessees to file their returns precisely to ensure timely refunds.
As per the department, the refund claims are within the verification checks which might cause delays. The precise filing of income tax returns is directed to the faster processing of refunds. Any differences in the claims incurred would directed to a request for a revised return.
Stressing Correct Tax Claims
The significance of correct and precise claims has been emphasized via the department recommending against claiming the wrong Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) amounts, under-reporting income, exaggerating deductions, or submitting fake expense claims. “Filing a false or fake claim is a punishable offence,” the statement repeated.
Comparing the Old and New ITR Filing Regimes
Taxpayers have the option to claim various deductions and exemptions under the old regime for filing income tax returns, while the new regime provides lower tax rates without these benefits. Ravi Agrawal, the Chairman of CBDT, observed that over 66% of this year’s income tax return filings were made under the new regime, which the government is promoting to facilitate the direct tax system.
Replying to Refund Delays
Taxpayers in the situation of delayed refunds are suggested to check their e-filing account for the message from the IT department and answered via the “pending action and worklist section” tab.
Proposal for Extended Refund Withholding
Agrawal also discussed the recent budget proposal to extend the refund withholding period to 60 days from the current 30 days. He clarified that this extension mainly applies to cases where there is an existing demand or a possible demand against the same taxpayer.
“This effectively rationalizes the timeline. However, such cases would be very few,” Agrawal stated, emphasizing that it is mainly a facilitative measure.
As the income tax return filing is approaching taxpayers are asked for precision in their filing to prevent the legal consequences and ensure the timely refunds.
