CBDT processes over 6 cr ITR filings for AY 2023-24, issues over 2.45 crore refunds till Sep 5

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has announced that it has successfully processed over 6 crore Income Tax Return (ITR) filings for the Assessment Year (AY) 2023-24. Besides that, the Income Tax Department has also issued refunds for over 2.45 crore returns, it said on Tuesday.

On September 5, the Income Tax department shared that out of the 6.98 crore ITRs filed, 6.84 crore have been verified for the annual year 2023-24. This further means that the department has processed more than 88 per cent of the verified ITRs.

The department further pointed out that the average processing time of ITRs (after verification) has been reduced to 10 days for Returns filed for AY 2023-24 compared to 82 days for AY 2019-20 and 16 days for AY 2022-23.

However, it mentioned that approximately 14 lakh ITRs for AY 2023-24 had been filed but had not been validated by taxpayers as of 04.09.2023. It should be noted that the Return can only be processed after the taxpayer has completed the verification process. The centre asked taxpayers to finish the verification process as soon as possible.

"There are about 12 lakh verified ITRs in which further information has been sought by the Department, for which requisite communication has been sent to the taxpayers through their registered e-filing accounts," the tax department stated.

There are several cases in which the ITRs have been processed and refunds have also been determined but the Department is unable to issue them as taxpayers have not yet validated their bank account in which the refund is to be credited. Taxpayers are requested to validate their bank accounts through the e-filing portal, the department said in a press note.

"The department's efforts to provide seamless and expeditious taxpayer services are being continuously strengthened," said the Income Tax department.

Lastly, the department stressed that it is committed to speedy processing and expeditious issue of refunds and solicits the cooperation of the taxpayers.