On July 31, between 5:00 pm to 6:00 pm, 5.17 lakh returns were filed.
New Delhi:
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta said on Friday that the gross tax collection this year is 38 per cent higher than last year.
Speaking to ANI, Mr Gupta said that Rs 93,000 crore tax refund has been issued this year as compared to Rs 52,000 crore last year.
He said that the government has taken several measures to make the tax system hassle free.
“We are trying to make the ‘Faceless Scheme’ a success. We have issued standard operating procedure for our officers. We are providing video-conference facilities to the taxpayers. We have also formed 20 committees for this, which will be monitored. will be done by the CBDT,” said Mr. Gupta.
Nitin Gupta, the new chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), said that the raids, searches, surveys and notices conducted by Income Tax officials are always based on credible information.
Mr Gupta was appointed as the chairman of CBDT, the apex body of the Income Tax Department on June 27, 2022.
Gupta told ANI in an exclusive interview, “Our search or action is based on credible information. When we get credible information that some person or any entity is committing tax evasion, it is our duty to take appropriate action.”
The Speaker said that he is confident enough to achieve the direct tax collection target set in the budget announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman.
Shri Gupta said that a target of Rs 14.20 lakh crore has been set in the budget and the current trend of direct tax collection is very encouraging.
“Till now we have got a net collection of around Rs 4.80 lakh crore. Our gross collection is 38 per cent higher than last year. July 31 was the last date for filing income tax returns. This time we have not extended the date.”
“Till date, around 6 crore returns have been filed and we have issued 68 per cent more refund amount than last year. Our endeavor is to issue refunds at the earliest. Till now we have issued refunds of Rs. Rs 93,000 crore as against Rs 52,000 crore in the year.”
He expected the direct tax collection to exceed the budget target.
“September collection data will be a good indicator of potential full-year performance,” he added.
Replying to a query on Income Tax Portal, Gupta said that the new Income Tax Portal is working very smoothly.
He said that on July 31, between 5 pm and 6 pm, 5.17 lakh returns were filed. “This shows that our online portal was working well for us. The taxpayers’ return filing experience was great.”
Talking about the faceless scheme, Mr. Gupta said, “We are constantly trying to make the scheme more assessee friendly. We have taken 3-4 initiatives, a detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for our officers. We have given an option to the assessee to appear virtually through video conference. We have also constituted 20 committees which will be monitored by CBDT.”
Further, reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision on the Benami Act, Mr. Gupta said, “We are studying and analyzing the judgment given by the Supreme Court. The order has just arrived and we are in the process of analyzing it.” “
(Except for the title, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)