Direct Taxes Data Indicates Improved Taxpayer Compliance

Over the years, the Income Tax Department has prioritised several initiatives to ensure taxpayers’ ease of compliance and transparent tax administration. In line with transparency in its functioning, the Department has released the Time Series Data of Direct Taxes and Income Tax Return Statistics in various tranches from time to time, according to an official statement from the Ministry of Finance on Thursday.

The data shows that the number of ITR filings has shown a consistent upswing over the last few years. The returns filed by individual taxpayers have increased from 3.36 crore in Assessment Year (AY) 2013-14 to 6.37 crore in AY 2021-22 registering an overall increase of 90 per cent, added the statement.

During the current fiscal too, 7.41 crore returns have been filed for AY 2023-24 till date, including 53 lakh new first-time filers. This is an indication of the widening of the tax base subsequent to various reform measures put in place by the Department.

In fact, while the overall number of returns filed by individual taxpayers has shown an increase over the years, there has also been an increase in the number of returns filed by individual taxpayers across various ranges of gross total income.

In the range of gross total income up to Rs 5 lakh, the number of returns filed by individual taxpayers has increased from 2.62 crore in AY 2013-14 to 3.47 crore in AY 2021-22 registering an increase of 32%. This range of income includes individuals having income below the taxable limit who may not be filing returns, mentioned the official statement.

While In the range of gross total income of Rs 5 lakh to Rs 10 lakh, and Rs 10 lakh to Rs 25 lakh, the number of returns filed by individual taxpayers from AY 2013-14 to AY 2021-22 has registered an increase of 295% and 291% respectively, read the statement further.

The above data is clearly indicative of a robust growth in the gross total income of individuals across different income groups subsequent to AY 2013-14. The overall impact has been reflected an increase in net direct tax collections from Rs.6.38 lakh crore in FY 2013-14 to Rs. 16.61 lakh crore in FY 2022-23.

This has been made possible due to the taxpayer-friendly and taxpayer-oriented progressive policies adopted by the Government. The Department is committed to ensure transparency in processes, efficiency in administration and concerted efforts at building trust with taxpayers and stakeholders. (ANI)