Tax refunds to rise 46.31% to Rs 3.08 lakh crore in FY 2024-25, Finance Ministry informed

The Finance Ministry announced improvements in the issuance of tax refunds for the financial year 2024-25 on Thursday. Refunds worth Rs 3.08 lakh crore were issued between April 1 and November 27 this year, an increase of 46.31 percent compared to the same period in 2023.

The income tax return portal handled over 900 filings in a second and nearly 70 lakh ITRs (income tax returns) in a day. This year over 1.62 crore ITRs were processed in a day for AY 2024-25. As the year 2024 comes to an end, the ministry shared the major initiatives or announcements made this year.

It said, "Highest ever ITRs filed in a day. 69.93 lakh ITRs were filed on 31st July 2024. 8.50 crore ITRs have been filed till 22.11.24, which is 7.32 percent higher than the ITRs filed for the corresponding period last year."

A total of Rs 2.03 lakh crore refunds were issued between 1 April 2023 and 30 November 2023 during the same period last year. The ministry had said last year that the introduction and enablement of the TIN 2.0 platform has been a game-changer in the process of expediting refunds. Over 3 crore refunds were deposited using TIN 2.0, with an impressively low error rate of just 0.002 percent.

The ministry said these refunds are instrumental in ensuring liquidity for taxpayers to instill confidence in its tax administration. Increased efficiency and higher disbursement of the refund amount show the commitment of this government toward achieving efficient taxpayer service and leveraging technology for the best governance in place.

This is an increase that would significantly amount to refunds for individual and business taxpayers. This fact would then relieve their respective contributions toward the general economic activities concerning compliance. Successful implementation of the TIN 2.0 version sustains improvement in performance each successive year.