Income Tax Return filing on 31st August 2019 (the last day of filing ITR returns) broke all previous records by filing 196 returns in a second. With this, it has set a benchmark for future return filing rates. This commendable hike is due to the tax department which brought inline the tax liable public and also the extension in the last date of filing ITR as most of the returns were pre-filed and just needed the final compliance. The long toil led to 5.65 million returns filed so far for the assessment year 2019-20.
The tax department witnessed 4.9 million ITR filings on Saturday, a surge of 41% from the previous assessment year as the taxpayers were finely equipped with pre-filled forms and guidance/latest updates via the social web. Five days from the last ITR filing date, the department witnessed 14.7 million e-filings which surged up to 42% from the previous year.
However, the hike in total annual returns filed this year is just 4% from the 54 million filed in the last financial year. Returns can be filed even after the due date but with penalties, if such is the case then figures could climb. Applause for Department, the tax procedures glided this year as there were no technical hindrances in the portal and compliance became easier which made many to voluntarily pay taxes.
Following the case of Cafe Coffee Day founder Late V.G Siddartha, some influential people in the industry claimed that some private equity investors and tax department officials together pressurised him. The tax department denied the charges.
Read Also: 11 Common Questions While Filing Income Tax Return (FAQs)
FM Nirmala Sitharaman who had a meeting with the tax officials declared that decided tax collection targets were achievable and there was no need for the tax persons to outreach for revenue receipts.
India is still lackadaisical relating to the figures of the regular tax-paying public. There are only 74.1 million direct taxpayers out of 1.3 billion people across the nation. The government is trying its best to cope up with the situation and come out with the best results by introducing additional provisions to make the law simpler.
