74% companies want govt to enable real-time audit reporting, says Deloitte

About 74 per cent of high-end corporate taxpayers want the income tax department to enable near real-time reporting and compliance monitoring, Deloitte India said on Tuesday.

Deloitte India's Income Tax Digitalisation in India survey, which took views of about 250 highest corporate taxpayers, also found that 67 per cent of businesses seek tax e-wallets to promptly credit refunds on passing orders, enabling adjustment against outstanding demands or future tax liabilities.

The survey said the respondents requested to adopt Standard Audit File for Tax (SAF-T), which would enable near real-time reporting and compliance monitoring. This signalled their intention to make the tax function tech-enabled.

Additionally, 63 per cent of the survey respondents said that taxpayers expect issuance of automated programming interface (API) to fetch data from income tax portals.

Opening up of API by the administration would help taxpayers have seamless connectivity with I-T portals to enable efficient compliance.

About 57 per cent of the respondents expect the administration to use new-age technologies such as blockchain and AI.

Deloitte India Partner Rohinton Sidhwa said Deloitte's survey reveals that 77 per cent of companies have increased their budgets for tax transformation and automation in FY24, up from 67 per cent last year highlighting the growing recognition of the need for a robust, technology-driven tax ecosystem.

"Organisations are embracing advanced technologies, such as Robotic Process Automation, Blockchain, GenAI, machine learning, data integration and analytics to accelerate the digital transformation of their tax functions," Sidhwa said.

The use of third-party tax software and cloud-based solutions has increased significantly with 69 per cent of respondents, up from 57 per cent in 2023, confirming their adoption of these tools.

However, organisations still face challenges in their journey towards tax digitalisation, the survey said, adding that key obstacles include a shortage of skilled tax technology professionals, resistance to adopting new technologies and difficulties integrating existing systems with external solutions or government portals.

"These challenges highlight the need for additional support and resources to enable smoother transitions," the survey said.