File accurate claims to get timely refunds: I-T department

The Income Tax Department has asked those filing tax returns to not make bogus claims for expenses, under-report their earnings, or exaggerate deductions, as all of these are punishable offences and cause a delay in the issuance of refunds.

The ITR filing season for the 2024-25 assessment year will end on July 31 for all categories of taxpayers whose accounts are not supposed to be audited.

According to the I-T Department and its administrative body, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), over five crore ITRs have been filed, as of July 26.

How to get timely returns

In a recent public communication, the I-T Department asked taxpayers to file their returns correctly to get timely refunds.

“Refund claims are subject to verification checks, which may cause delays. Accurate filing of ITR leads to quicker processing of refunds. Any discrepancies in the claims made will prompt a request for a revised return (to be filed by the taxpayer),” it said.

It cautioned ITR-filing taxpayers to not claim “incorrect” Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) amounts, not “under-report” their income or “exaggerate” deductions or submit claims for “bogus” expenses.

The department informed the taxpayers that their claims should be “correct and accurate”. “Filing a false or bogus claim is a punishable offence,” the public communication said.

66% filings under new tax regime

Taxpayers can claim a variety of deductions and exemptions to lower their tax liability under the old ITR filing regime while those opting for the new regime will get a lower tax rate but not these benefits.

CBDT chairman Ravi Agrawal had recently told news agency PTI during a post-Budget review that more than 66 per cent of ITR filings this time were under the new regime, which is being promoted by the government to make the direct tax system better and simpler.

The communication stated that if the due refunds are delayed, taxpayers should check their e-filing account to see if the I-T department has sent them any message in this context and, if yes, then it should be responded through the “pending action and worklist section” tab.

Refund period

CBDT chief Agrawal was also asked about the recent Budget proposal of withholding the refund for up to 60 days, up two times from the existing 30, from the date on which such assessment or reassessment is made. He said such cases “would not be very substantial in numbers”.

“This is basically in those cases where there is already a demand in the case of the same assessee, or the demand is likely to arise,” Agrawal said. He gave the example of a refund being generated but the assessment proceeding ongoing, and it is felt that there is a demand that is likely to come.

“The provisions are that once the assessment is completed, the assessee gets 30 days to pay the demand. So, the demand becomes due 30 days after the assessment. Therefore, to adjust the refund, another 30-day period has to be there, and hence this timeline,” he explained.

“It is just rationalising that effectively. But then, those refunds would be not very substantial in number; they would be very minuscule. It is only enablement,” the head of the direct taxes body said.

(With agency inputs)