“The intent of the department is to keep the I-T return forms simple to ease compliance under the new law, which replaces the six-decade old Income Tax Act, 1961,” he said.
Speaking at the inauguration of the taxpayers’ lounge at the India International Trade Fair, Agrawal reiterated that the budgeted income tax collection for this financial year will be met.
He attributed the delay in issuance of refunds to some high-value transactions flagged by the system and said the department is analysing some of the refund claims.
The CBDT chairman said the department has written to taxpayers to file a revised return in case there is a discrepancy.
“The collection is expected to bounce by December and there is no reason to believe that targets will not be met,” he said, adding that hopefully by December 10, income tax collection should increase.The direct tax target for this fiscal is ₹25.20 lakh crore. Income tax collection increased at a tepid pace in November, sparking speculation that tax collection might fall short of expectations.Net direct tax collection in this fiscal increased 6.99% year-on-year till November 10 to more than ₹12.92 lakh crore. Refunds fell 18% to about ₹2.42 lakh crore during this period.
“We have analysed and found that some wrong refunds or deductions were being claimed so there is scrutiny but we hope to release the remaining refunds by this month or December,” Agrawal said.