E-filing of tax return rises 26%

Nearly 20.6 million returns have been filed against 16.3 million in the previous year

Personal income tax returns filed online grew 26.12 per cent by September 7, the last day to file returns.

As many as 20.6 million returns were filed against 16.3 million in the previous year, an official statement said on Thursday. The peak filing rate touched 3,475 returns per minute as compared to 2,901 returns per minute last year.

The Central Processing Centre as on September 7 has processed 4.5 million returns and issued refunds to 2.2 million payers relating to assessment year 2015-16. The income-tax department through its portal has electronically verified over 3.29 million e-returns. The new e-filing system, enabled last month, allows online verification of a person's income tax returns by using Aadhaar number or internet banking, ATM or email, ending the practice of sending paper acknowledgement to its office in Bengaluru.