Nitin Gupta, who serves as the Chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), disclosed that the Income-Tax Department is presently facing delays in around 35 lakh refund cases due to inconsistencies in bank account information. He affirmed that the department is proactively engaging with these taxpayers through a specialised call center to accelerate the resolution of these matters and ensure prompt refunds to the appropriate bank accounts.
Refund Delays and Technology Shift:
During interactions with reporters, Mr. Gupta acknowledged instances where refunds are stuck due to taxpayers receiving old demands related to years around 2010-11. He attributed this issue to a technological shift that the department underwent in 2011, transitioning from paper-based registers to computer systems. Consequently, some of these old demands have resurfaced in taxpayers‘ accounts, stated NDTV.
Unique Demand Management Facilitation System:
To address these refund delays caused by various reasons, the CBDT implemented a unique demand management facilitation system approximately a year ago. This system involves sending an email to the taxpayer, indicating that they will receive a call from a specific number three days after the email’s dispatch. During this conversation, outstanding issues are resolved. Mr. Gupta noted that over the past year, around 1.4 lakh such entries were successfully resolved through interactions with a call center based in Mysuru. Taxpayers are given the option to either accept the demand or contest it.
Expansion of Call Center Services:
Initially, the call center served four regions, including Karnataka, Goa, Mumbai, Delhi, and the north-west region. The CBDT plans to expand its reach further to cover other regions and cities.
Direct Tax Collections and New Tax Regime:
Mr. Gupta expressed confidence in the department’s direct tax collection performance, stating that, as of the current date, the department has collected ₹9.57 lakh crore in net revenue, including personal income tax, corporate tax, and other tax categories. This was achieved after issuing ₹1.50 lakh crore in refunds during the ongoing fiscal year.
Regarding the new tax regime introduced in the last Budget, Mr. Gupta mentioned that corporates have filed about 60% of their profits under the new tax regime during the last fiscal year. He anticipated that 60-70% of individual taxpayers will shift to this new tax regime, which aims to simplify the tax structure by eliminating various deductions and offering a flat and reduced tax rate.
Budget Projections:
The budget for the fiscal year 2023-24 has set a target of over ₹18.23 lakh crore for direct tax collections, which represents a 9.75% increase over the ₹16.61 lakh crore collected in the previous fiscal year. Mr. Gupta expressed confidence that the department will surpass these budget estimates by the end of this financial year in March 2024.
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