25% surge in filing of IT returns : Central Board of Direct Taxes

New Delhi: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Monday highlighted a 25 percent increase in the number of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed in the current fiscal, on the backdrop of economic reform, including demonetisation and the Income Tax Department`s (ITD) Operation Clean Money.

As on August 5, CBDT noted that the number of IT returns filed is capped at 2, 82, 92, 955, as against 2, 26, 97, 843 filed during the corresponding period of the previous financial year, thus registering an increase of 24.7 percent compared to a growth rate of 9.9 percent in the previous year.

Additionally, the growth in returns filed by individuals is 25.3 percent, with 2, 79,39,083 returns received as on August 5. However, last year, 2,22,92,864 returns were filed depicting a substantial increase in the number of new tax payers, which have been brought into the tax net subsequent to demonetisation.

The chamber also noted a 41.79 percent increase in the advance tax collections of Personal Income Tax, as on August 05.

Personal Income Tax under Self Assessment Tax (SAT) grew at 34.25 percent over the corresponding period in financial year ending March 31, 2017, thus signifying positive outcome from the measures taken to curb tax evasion and circulation of black money.