Early refunds saved interest outgo of Rs 4,000 cr

The Income Tax Department has saved a potential interest outgo of up to Rs 4,000 crore by an early payout of refunds to taxpayers in April, a top official of the Department said today.

“In the month of April, we have issued more than 20 lakh refunds all over the country, which is a record number of refunds issued in April,” Central Board of Direct Taxes Chairman Sudhir Chandra told reporters here. By doing so, the department has saved Rs 4,000 crore. “The refund will have been (otherwise) issued in March 2012,” he said. According to a recent report, in absolute terms, the refunds worked out to Rs 20,000-crore.

Chandra said the department has already finished over 90 per cent of the work on refunds and is targeting to finish it by the third week of June.

In another good news for salaried taxpayers, Chandra said the department would formally notify the budget announcement of no tax returns to be filed for individuals earning up to Rs 5 lakh by June.

“In cases where the Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is already done, we already have all the relevant information with us. Why should we ask him (tax-payer) to come to us again?” he said.