By TIOL News Service

NEW DELHI, JAN 09, 2017: TAX Deduction at Source (TDS) constitutes nearly 40% of the direct tax collections. CPC(TDS) reconciles and correlates information from various sources including Banks (tax payment), Deductors (reporting tax deduction), Assessing Officers (mapping of no/low tax deductions) and Tax Professionals (reporting International transactions). With a robust tax reconciliation mechanism put in place through the CPC(TDS), the tax payer is given accurate and timely credit for the taxes paid/deducted. This has led to faster refunds and minimal grievances. The savings for the tax payers include: -

• Cost of maintaining voluminous physical TDS certificates.

• Cost involved in reconciliation of taxes with the deductors

• Cost involved in submitting income tax returns in paper form with annexures.

• Facility of sending SMS alerts to salaried taxpayers of TDS deposited by his deductor/ employer launched in October, 2016.

E-filing of Income Tax Returns

E-filing of Income Tax Returns was introduced for the 1st time in 2006-07 for corporates. The No. of e-file returns has increased from around 4 lacs in F.Y. 2006-07 to 434 lacs in F.Y. 2015-16. Nearly 74% of the e-returns are voluntarily filed; this facility is free of cost to tax-payers. E-returns now constitute for nearly 85% of total returns filed with the Department. In F.Y. 2015-16 nearly 434 lacs e-returns have been filed in comparison to 341 lacs e-return filed during F.Y. 2014-15 representing a growth of around 27%. No of e-returns filed during F.Y. 2015-16 (upto 30.09.2015) stands at 245 lacs in comparison to 289 lacs e-returns filed for the corresponding period of F.Y. 2016-17( upto 30.09.2016) registering a growth of 17%.

Other highlights of e-filing project are:

• Around 53% returns are filed after office hours, indicating the convenience of the tax-payers of not having to stand in queues outside tax offices on last few days.

• The e-filing website also facilitates the filing of returns in response to issue of defective notice, filing of rectification request, filing of response to non-compliance letters, online grievance redressal etc. ensuring that this becomes a single electronic gateway for tax-payer interaction with the department.

In the F.Y. 2016-17 upto 30.09.2016, CPC has processed 2,69,83,690 e-file returns pertaining to various assessment years as compared to 1,87,21,380 returns processed during the corresponding period of the previous year. During the month of September, 2016 72, 53,681 returns were processed as compared to 35, 12,734 returns during the corresponding month of the previous year.

• Electronic Verification Code (EVC) process implemented in April, 2015 is successful and more than 15 lacs tax-payers have adopted this green initiative. CPC has already processed 44 lacs returns through EVC.

• Average processing time is reduced to 61 days which is less than the period specified in Citizen’s Charter (6 months).