Record number of over 7.85 cr I-T returns filed till Oct 31: CBDT data

The Income Tax Department appreciated taxpayers and tax professionals for on-time compliance, resulting in a record number of filing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) till October 31, 2023, said a press release by Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

According to the official release, October 31 was the due date for filing ITRs (other than ITR-7) for taxpayers (not having any international or specified domestic transaction), in whose case books of account were required to be audited.

The total number of ITRs for Assessment Year (AY) 2023-24 filed till October 31, 2023, is more than 7.65 crore, which is 11.7% higher as compared to the total number of ITRs of 6.85 crore for AY 2022-23 filed till November 7, 2022, which was the due date for filing such ITRs in the preceding year, said the official statement.

Further, the total number of ITRs filed in Financial Year (FY) 2023-24 for all assessment years up to October 31, 2023, stands at 7.85 crore, an all-time high when compared to the total number of ITRs of 7.78 crore filed in FY 2022-23, added the official statement.

The press release further mentioned that out of the 7.65 crore ITRs filed for AY 2023-24, more than 7.51 crore ITRs have already been verified. Further, out of 7.51 crore verified ITRs, 7.19 crore have already been processed till October 31, 2023, which means that almost 96% of the verified ITRs stand processed.

According to the press note from CBDT, October 31, 2023, was also the due date for filing some crucial statutory forms like Form 10B, 10BB and Form 3CEB.

The total number of various types of statutory forms filed up to October 31, 2023, stands at more than 1.44 crore.

During the peak filing days, the e-filing portal successfully handled the traffic providing a seamless experience to the taxpayers and tax professionals for filing of Forms and ITRs, said the official release.

This effectiveness of the e-filing portal was widely appreciated by taxpayers and professionals on various platforms including Social Media.

The press note also highlighted the support provided by the helpdesk to taxpayers through inbound calls, outbound calls, live chats, Webex and co-browsing sessions.

The press note further mentioned that the helpdesk team also supported the resolution of queries received on the Twitter handle of the Department through Online Response Management (ORM), by proactively reaching out to the taxpayers/stakeholders and assisting them with different issues on a near real-time basis.

According to the official release, eight webinars related to the filing of auditable and time-barring forms, filing of ITR-3/5/6, DSC registration, and form 10B/10BB filing were conducted to guide the taxpayers and tax professionals and educational videos pertaining to the same were also uploaded on the e-filing portal.

The Income Tax Department in the official statement by CBDT said, "The Department expresses its gratitude to all the taxpayers and tax professionals for their support in compliances and requests the attention of taxpayers who are yet to file the Forms and ITRs, to file them."

"The Department urges all taxpayers and tax professionals to continue to make tax-related compliances in time," it added.