I-T dept issues 66.92 pc higher refunds till November for FY23

The income tax (I-T) department has issued 66.92 per cent higher refunds from April 1 till November 30, 2022 (April 2022-November 2022) as compared with the previous year’s.According to the finance ministry, the income tax department has sped up the issue of refunds till November in fiscal 2022-23 (FY2022-23) compared to the corresponding period in 2021. Refunds amounting to Rs 2.15 lakh crore were issued between April 1, 2022, and November 30, 2022.According to the department verification of income tax return (ITR) is a prerequisite for processing. About 96.5 per cent of the returns filed till November 30, 2022, have already been e-verified.The period of verification has been reduced from 120 days to 30 days.More than 2.42 crore ITRs were processed in a single day for assessment year (AY) 2022-23. Average processing time of ITRs has been reduced from 26 days in FY2021-22 to 16 days in FY2022-23. About 75 per cent of ITRs were processed within seven days of filing.The department has shown steady growth in direct tax collections. Net collection in FY 2022-23 is 24.26 per cent higher than the net collection for the corresponding period of the preceding year. As much as 61.79 per cent of Budget Estimates for FY2022-23 has already been achieved.To encourage voluntary compliance and reduce litigation, the facility of updated returns introduced to give an opportunity to taxpayers to update the ITR any time within two years from the end of the relevant A.Y. by paying additional tax. Pre-filled data from various statutory forms and past records made the filing of ITRs more user-friendly and smoother.A substantial portion of data is pre-filled, making compliance easier.