CBDT to issue appreciation certificates to 10.15 lk taxpayers

The Income Tax Department today said it will issue certificates of appreciation to an additional 10.15 lakh individual taxpayers for 2015-16 fiscal.
It has already issued such certificates to 8.43 lakh individual taxpayers by e-mail on the basis of the taxes paid by them for 2015-16.
Since last month, the CBDT has been sending out such certificates of appreciation to individual taxpayers in various categories on the basis of the level of taxes paid by them for the current Assessment Year 2016-17.
The certificates have been issued in cases where taxes have been paid in full and taxpayers have no outstanding tax liabilities and where the return is e-filed within the prescribed due date.

"In continuation of the initiative, CBDT has started issuing the second round of certificates to another 10.15 lakh taxpayers," the CBDT said in a statement.
While the earlier set of certificates had mostly included individuals who e-verified their returns, the second phase will cover those who have filed their returns within the due date and their ITR-V has been received well before the 120 day period for submission provided under the Income Tax Act.

This letter of appreciation marks the first effort by the government to directly communicate to taxpayers its appreciation for that contribution.
There are four categories for issuing letter of appreciation -- tax paid over Rs 1 crore, between Rs 50 lakh to Rs 1 crore, between Rs 10 lakh to Rs 50 lakh and that Rs 1 lakh to Rs 10 lakh.

"The CBDT urges taxpayers to e-file their returns in time and verify their return by submitting the Electronic Verification Code online or sending their ITR-V within the 120 day period so that they can also be acknowledged for their contribution," the CBDT said.
The Department is committed to continuous improvement of taxpayer services and seeks the cooperation of all taxpayers in contributing their fair share of taxes voluntarily, it added.