Coronavirus outbreak: I-T Department refunds Rs 4,250 crore till April 14

Over 10.2 lakh refunds worth Rs 4,250 crore have been issued by the income tax department until April 14, the government said on Wednesday. Nearly 1.75 lakh additional refunds are in the process of issuance this week, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) also said in a statement. The Finance Ministry said last week that it will fast track issuance of pending income tax refunds  Rs 5 lakh. The refunds are expected to benefit nearly 14 lakh taxpayers amid coronavirus crisis. "These refunds would get credited directly to the taxpayer bank account in 5-7 business days from issuance," CBDT also said.

The e-mail responses are awaited in nearly 1.74 lakh cases from taxpayers for reconciliation with their outstanding tax demands. A remainer email has already been sent asking them to respond within 7 days so that the refund can be processed accordingly, CBDT added. "It may be noted that these reminder emails from I-T department are in fact for the benefit of taxpayers as it seeks them to confirm their outstanding demand, their bank accounts and reconciliation of defect/mismatch prior to issue of refund," CBDT said.

Meanwhile, other than issuing all pending income tax refunds, the government also  recently decided to issue all pending Goods and Services Tax (GST) and customs refunds, providing relief to around 1 lakh business entities including micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Rs 18,000 crore worth of total refund would be granted.

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