6.98 Crore ITRs Filed In AY2023-24, Processing Time Reduced to 10 Days, Says IT Dept

The Income Tax department announced on Tuesday that a total of 6.98 crore income tax returns (ITR) were filed for the assessment year 2023-24, with 6.84 crore ITRs already verified.

Out of these, six crore ITRs have been processed, accounting for 88 percent of the verified returns. Additionally, over 2.45 crore refunds for AY 2023-24 have already been issued.

Efforts to provide seamless and expeditious taxpayer services have been consistently strengthened, resulting in a reduced average processing time for returns filed for the current assessment year 2023-24, now taking only ten days. This is a significant improvement compared to 82 days for AY 2019-20 and 16 days for AY 2022-23.

The income tax department pointed out that there are 14 lakh ITRs that have been filed but are still awaiting verification by the taxpayers as of September 4. Delay in verification causes processing delays since returns can only be processed after taxpayer verification is completed.

Additionally, there are 12 lakh verified ITRs for which further information has been requested by the department. The department has communicated with these taxpayers through their registered e-filing accounts and requested prompt responses.

Some ITRs have been processed, and refunds have been determined, but the department has been unable to issue refunds because taxpayers have not validated their bank accounts for refund crediting. Taxpayers are urged to validate their bank accounts through the e-filing portal.

The income tax department reiterated its commitment to speedy processing and expeditious refund issuance and sought the cooperation of taxpayers in this regard.