Income Tax News: With nearly 7.28 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed by July 31, 2024, for the Assessment Year (AY) 2024–25, the Income Tax Department has achieved a new milestone. Compared to the 6.77 crore ITRs filed by the same date the previous year, this is a 7.5% increase. Tax experts’ proactive efforts and taxpayers’ timely compliance are largely attributed for this spike.
Shift Towards the New Tax Regime
This year, a noteworthy development is the increasing acceptance of the New Tax Regime. Approximately 72% (5.27 crore) of all ITRs filed fell under the New Tax Regime, whereas just 28% (2.01 crore) were under the Old Tax Regime. This change reflects taxpayers’ growing preference for the New Regime’s more straightforward structure.
Peak Filing Day: July 31, 2024
On July 31, the deadline for filing returns for salaried individuals and non-tax audit cases, over 69.92 lakh ITRs were filed in a single day. Between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM on that day, the e-filing platform managed an astounding 5.07 lakh ITRs per hour. 917 ITRs per second was the greatest filing rate ever recorded, reaching a peak of 9,367 submissions per minute.
Expanding the Tax Base
With 58.57 lakh persons filing their first ITRs this year, there was a notable surge in the number of first-time filers as well, which indicates a growing tax base. On April 1, 2024, the first day of the fiscal year, ITR forms (ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4, and ITR-6) were made available on the e-filing portal for the first time. Additionally, the department’s dedication to efficiency was seen in the early distribution of the ITR-3 and ITR-5 forms compared to prior years.
Comprehensive Outreach and Education Campaigns
The success of the Income Tax Department this year is largely due to its extensive outreach and education programs. With the use of FAQs, educational videos, and social media campaigns, the department concentrated on informing taxpayers about the distinctions between the Old and New Tax Regimes. To promote wide accessibility, these resources were made available in 12 regional languages in addition to English and Hindi.
Breakdown of ITR Filings
ITR-1 forms accounted for 45.77% (3.34 crore) of the 7.28 crore ITRs filed, with ITR-4 (25.77%, or 1.88 crore) coming in second. 14.93% (1.09 crore) of the forms were ITR-2, and 12.50% (91.10 lakh) were ITR-3. 7.48 lakh, or 1.03% of the total, were ITR-5 to ITR-7 forms. It’s interesting to note that 43.82% of these returns were filed online utilising the e-filing portal’s ITR function, with the remaining returns being filed offline.
Final Reminders for Taxpayers
The Income Tax Department is appreciative of the cooperation and prompt compliance shown by taxpayers and tax professionals. The IT Department also remind taxpayers that they have 30 days from the date of filing to e-verify any unverified ITRs. It is advised that those who were unable to submit their paperwork by July 31st do so as soon as possible.
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