The income tax department has stated that there has already been significant growth in tax collections in the first quarter of FY25.
The income tax department has said that more than 4 crore income tax returns (ITR) have been filed up to 22 July, 2024, which is less than 45% of all income taxpayers in the country who have filed for assessment year 2024-25. According to the IT department, this is 8% more compared to returns filed in the same period last year.
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The IT department announced a few key milestones crossed. As of 16 July 2024, the number of ITRs filed per day had crossed 15 lakh filings per day. It is expected to increase significantly over the next few days as nearly 50% of taxpayers are yet to file returns by 31 July, which is the last date for filing returns. After that, there will be a maximum penalty of Rs 5,000 levied for delay in filing taxes, and this has to be filed before 31 December.
Taxpayers in India, who are filing returns under the new tax regime (which is about 66% of taxpayers), got a few relaxations in the Union Budget 2024 that was presented on 23 July 2024. This includes an increase in standard deduction from Rs 50,000 to Rs 75,000, a change in the tax slabs, with the maximum rate of 30% applicable on income exceeding Rs 15 lakh. In the new slabs, those with income up to Rs 3 lakh don’t pay any tax, those with income between Rs 3 lakh to Rs 7 lakh pay 5%, Rs 7 lakh to Rs 10 lakh pay 10%, from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 12 lakh the tax is 15% and from Rs 12 lakh to Rs 15 lakh it is 20%.
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The Union Budget announcements, however, will not be applicable in the immediate filing of ITR as the finance bill needs to first be passed in the house, and these provisions will come into effect after 1 October, which means it will effectively impact taxpayers filing returns next year (Assessment Year 25-26).
The income tax department has stated that there has already been significant growth in tax collections in the first quarter of FY25. Gross direct tax collections have registered a growth of 22.19% so far. For the last financial year, direct tax collections grew at 18.48% for the full year at Rs 23.37 lakh crore. Advance tax collections for FY25 stood at Rs 1,48,823 crore, a growth of 27.34% over the same period last year.
In this financial year, so far, refunds totalling about Rs 53,322 crore have been issued. In the last financial year, total refunds issued amounted to Rs 3.79 lakh crore.
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Will the ITR due date get extended?
There were rumours that the last date for filing IT returns will be extended to 31 August. However, there has been no official word from the income tax department. The clamour for extending the due date is because several taxpayers were facing glitches with the portal and discrepancies in their Annual Income Statement (AIS) and Tax Information Statement (TIS). Despite this, the IT department notes there has been an increase in the filing of returns compared to the same period last year, and hence the date may not be extended.
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