IT department alerts taxpayers on fake news circulating about ITR deadline and warns about tax refund scams
The Income Tax department issued a warning about fake news related to the deadline of ITR returns. The department stated that a clipping of the news which is being circulated on social media, and claims that the date for e-filing of ITR has been extended to August 31, is fake. The last date to file ITR for FY2023-24 is July 31, 2024, the IT department said.
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“It has come to our knowledge that a clipping of Sandesh news is circulating on social media regarding extension of date of e-filing of ITR. This is FAKE news. Taxpayers are advised to follow updates from the official website/portal of IncomeTaxIndia,” as per the Income Tax Department’s social media post on X (formerly Twitter).
The tax department also warned tax filers about a scam doing the rounds with regards to income tax refunds. It said, “Those who are waiting for their refunds, a new kind of scam has surfaced raising concerns. The pretense of tax refunds is being used by scammers to drain people’s bank accounts by sending SMS and mail.”
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The Income Tax deparment’s website stated, “Over 4 crore ITRs have been filed till 22 July 2024, which is over 8% more compared to returns filed during the same period last year. The number of ITRs filed per day has crossed over 15 lakh on 16 July and is expected to increase more on daily basis as the due date of 31st July 2024 is approaching.”
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It added, “While the milestone of filing of 1 crore of ITRs for AY 2024-25 arrived on 23rd June 2024, the 2 crore milestone and 3 crore milestone has been achieved on 7th July and 16th July respectively which is also earlier than last year. The 4 crore milestone was achieved on 24 July last year. Taxpayers facing any technical problem related to filing may reach out to our tollfree helpdesk numbers (1800 103 0025 or 1800 419 0025) or [email protected].”
