IT Department making every effort to complete processing of Income Tax Returns:

IT Department making every effort to complete processing of Income Tax Returns The Income Tax Department is working hard to expedite the processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and the issuance of refunds. For the Assessment Year 2023-24, 7.09 crore returns have been filed. Of these, 6.96 crore ITRs have been verified, of which 6.46 crore returns have been processed as on date including 2.75 crore refund returns. The focus is on quick processing and the issuance of refunds. However, there are a few instances where refunds are due to the taxpayer but previous demands are outstanding. Section 245(1) of the Income-tax Act of 1961 requires that the taxpayer be given the opportunity to make a representation before adjusting the refund against an existing demand. The taxpayer is required to agree, disagree, or clarify the demand's status. As a result, taxpayers who had existing demand(s) in previous years have been notified. This is a taxpayer-friendly measure that provides an opportunity in accordance with natural justice principles. Taxpayers are encouraged to take advantage of this opportunity and respond to such notices in order to enable the cleaning up/reconciliation of pending demands and the timely issuance of refunds.