Refunds for ITR filed online to be further hastened: official

If the returns and the details within it are filed correctly by the taxpayers, the department is sure that the refunds could be issued in less than a month's time, the official said

The Income Tax department will further hasten the speed of issuing refunds to taxpayers who e-file their returns as it's Bengaluru-based CPC has adopted a variety of smart business procedures in the recent past, a senior official said.

The official involved in the operations of the Central Processing Centre (CPC) said while it has ensured that refunds are issued within 30 days in 73 per cent of e-filed ITR cases during this year, the new and modern protocols adopted by it will ensure that these numbers go up substantially in the coming days and enhance taxpayer satisfaction.

"If the returns and the details within it are filed correctly by the taxpayers, the department is sure that the refunds could be issued in less than a month's time. In many cases the CPC has issued refunds within a week and we expect this to soon become a routine affair. Adopting new business processes and certifications is a work in this direction," the official said.

The CPC, a flagship project of the department for IT Returns (ITRs) filing, has recently been awarded the 'ISO 9001:2008' standard for Quality Management System and with this latest cap in the feather, it has become the only organisation in the country to have received three top-notch awards for undertaking best business practises in its work domain.

"The IT department's CPC is the only organisation in India which has been awarded the top awards in business management under the categories of quality management, privacy and security management and records upkeep management. With these accolades the CPC is surely enabled to work and deliver taxpayer services in a better, enhanced and efficient manner," BSI Managing Director Venkataram Arabolu said.

The BSI had conducted an audit of the CPC in this regard

and handed over the certification based on various parameters and benchmarks created to check best business practises.

Echoing similar views, the official said with government's enhanced impetus on issuing quick refunds to taxpayers, the CPC will surely be the most important and instrumental wing of the department to usher in these measures.

As per official data till December last year, the CPC processed 3.27 crore returns, registering a growth of 18 per cent over 2.65 crore returns processed during the same period the previous year.

During the current year, the CPC issued refunds in 1.81 crore cases out of which in 1.32 crore cases, 73 per cent, the refunds were issued within 30 days of filing of the returns by the taxpayers.

Operationalised in 2009, the CPC has earlier been certified for its information security management system in 2014 and for its records management system in 2013.

"Conformance to these internationally recognised standards ensures that the CPC is able to efficiently and accurately process Income Tax returns and expeditiously issue refunds," the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had recently said.