Income tax: Refunds surge 46.31% to ₹3.08 lakh cr; 1.62 crore ITR filings processed in a day, says Finance Ministry

The Ministry of Finance on Thursday, December 12, announced that the issuance of tax refunds had increased 46.31 per cent during the period of April 1 to November 27 in the financial year 2024-25, compared to the same period in 2023-24, reported the news agency ANI.

At its peak, the income tax return (ITR) portal handled over 900 filings in a second and close to 70 lakh ITR filings a day, according to the report. 

In the assessment year 2024-25, more than 1.62 crore ITR filings were processed in a day. The ministry has also shared the initiatives or announcements that it has undertaken this year.

“Highest filing of ITRs in one day, 69.93 lakh ITRs filed on 31st July 2024. 8.50 cr ITR filed till 22.11.24, which is 7.32 per cent higher than ITRs filed for the corresponding period of the preceding year,” the Finance Ministry said.

Special initiative to handle failed refunds

The ministry also rolled out a special initiative to address the 35 lakh failed refund cases from various assessment years and has taken steps to ensure refunds were processed for validated bank accounts. This step aims to expedite the issuance of pending tax refunds as well as to streamline the overall process, as per the report. 

In the financial year 2023-24, during the same period of April 1 to November 30, a total of ₹2.03 lakh crore was issued, reported the agency citing the Finance Ministry. The report also highlighted that the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) played an important role in increasing the refunds by 46.31 per cent this year.

The Ministry of Finance also noted that TIN 2.0, or the new income tax filing e-portal, has played a major role in contributing to these results. More than 3 crore funds were credited using the platform, with a low error rate of 0.002 per cent, as per the report. 

Highlighting the importance of tax refunds, the ministry also noted that it is essential to ensure liquidity for the taxpayers and is aimed to promote more trust in the tax administration. 

The rise in refunds is expected to provide relief to individual taxpayers and businesses and also contribute to overall economic activity and compliance.