Income Tax Department sets April 30 as deadline for approving pending Refunds

The Income Tax Department has set a deadline of April 30 for approving pending tax refunds. Refunds totalling more than Rs 3.36 lakh crore were given out in the financial year 2024 up till March 17, as opposed to Rs.2.98 lakh crore during the same period in the financial year 2023, it was disclosed last month, according to a recent source.

Since the Assessment Year 2024–25 portal opened on April 1, more than 46,000 46,000 income tax returns (ITRs) have been filed in the first five days, with about 3,000 of those already having been processed.

In order to expedite tax refunds this financial year, the department has created an interim plan that includes a timeframe for certain taxpayer-related procedures. The approval of outstanding refunds by April 30 has received priority, especially those deferred under section 241A because of possible negative revenue impact.

The necessity of certifying all outstanding refunds for electronic returns submitted on the Income Tax Business Application (ITBA) for all assessment years by April 30 is emphasized by officials. Furthermore, penalties in at least half of the cases that will become time-barred by March of next year must be resolved by June 30.

A month has been set aside by officials to handle any pending applications for NIL or lower TDS/TCS that are due by April 1, 2024, in relation to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) cases. Additionally, new applications will be handled one month after they are received. In addition, orders pertaining to cases where TDS surveys were carried out through March 31, 2024, are anticipated to be passed by June 30.

All in all, these programs seek to improve taxpayer satisfaction and expedite the tax refund process by resolving issues that people brought up concerning unpaid refunds from prior financial years.