INDIA: The last day for filing Income Tax Return (ITR) has finally arrived and taxpayers have flooded the e-filing portals. The Income Tax Department has announced helpline numbers and portals to help taxpayers with hassle-free ITR filing.
ITR is mandatory if your income is more than the basic exemption limit. There is no extension in the deadline for filing ITR. With less than 24 hours left, it is important to file your ITR to avoid any penalties.
So far, the government is denying any extension in the ITR filing deadline. Since so many ITRs have already been filed, the government is unlikely to extend the due dates. But some taxpayers and experts are still hoping for a last-minute surprise.
On Sunday, the Income Tax department announced on its Twitter account that 19,53,581 ITRs have been filed till 1 pm today, and 4,67,902 ITRs were filed in the last hour. Till July 30, more than 5.10 crore ITRs were filed. Over 57.51 lakh ITRs were filed on Saturday alone.
The Department latest tweet said, “Statistics of Income Tax Returns filed today. 67,97,067 #ITRs have been filed upto 2300 hours today & 4,50,013 #ITRs filed in the last 1hr. For any assistance, pl connect on orm@cpc.incometax.gov.in or on our help desk nos 1800 103 0025 & 1800 419 0025. We will be glad to assist!”
The ministry issued a public message through its official Twitter account asking taxpayers, mostly individuals and salaried classes, to file their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) before the due date.
The CBDT also issued an order that Aaykar Seva Kendras (ASKs) or Income Tax Help Centers across the country will remain open on Sundays and additional receipt counters will be opened whenever needed to “facilitate the filing of tax returns by taxpayers”.Hope you have filed yours too! If not, pl #FileNow. Deadline to file ITR 2022-23 is 31 July 2022,” the department said on Twitter.
Officials said the Finance Ministry and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), which forms the policy framework for the tax department, continuously monitor ITR filing.
A “war room” of technical experts working on the portal and the CBDT’s social media team, which collects individual and public responses to submissions, are working together 24/7, a senior officer told PTI.
The officer said that issues related to the e-filing portal are being addressed promptly and every query raised by taxpayers is being answered.
Asked about demands on social media and through statements sent to the CBDT to extend the ITR filing deadline on July 31, officials said they were trying to ensure that “filings were done smoothly up to the deadline and nothing else was in mind.”
As per data updated till July 28, around 4.05 lakh ITRs were filed, of which the number of tax returns verified/validated was 3.09 lakh.
The number of returns that could be processed was 2.80 lakh and out of that 2.41 lakh or 86 per cent were processed, the data said.
Around 5.89 lakh ITRs were filed during the last period or FY 2020-21 for the extended due date of December 31, 2021.
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