Srotaswini Mohapatra
12 August 2024
Taxpayers and tax professionals adhered to compliance deadlines, leading to a record number of Income-tax Returns (ITRs) filed by 31st July 2024. The total number of ITRs for AY 2024-25 exceeded 7.28 crore by this date, marking a 7.5% increase over the 6.77 crore ITRs filed by 31st July 2023 for AY 2023-24.
An increasing number of taxpayers have chosen the New Tax Regime this year. Out of the 7.28 crore ITRs filed for AY 2024-25, 5.27 crore were under the New Tax Regime, compared to 2.01 crore filed under the Old Tax Regime. Thus, approximately 72% of taxpayers opted for the New Tax Regime, while 28% remained in the Old Tax Regime.
The filing of ITRs peaked on 31st July 2024, the deadline for salaried taxpayers and other non-tax audit cases, with over 69.92 lakh ITRs submitted on that single day. The e-filing portal also recorded its highest per-hour filing rate of 5.07 lakh ITRs between 7:00 pm and 8:00 pm on 31st July 2024. The highest per-second filing rate was 917 (on 17th July 2024 at 08:13:54 am), and the highest per-minute rate was 9,367 (on 31st July 2024 at 08:08 pm).
The Department received 58.57 lakh ITRs from first-time filers by 31st July 2024, indicating a broadening of the tax base.
For the first time in history, ITRs (ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4, ITR-6) were available on the e-filing portal from the first day of the Financial Year, i.e., 1st April 2024. ITR-3 and ITR-5 were also released earlier compared to previous financial years. Emphasis was placed on educating taxpayers about the Old and New Tax Regimes, with FAQs and educational videos provided on the e-filing portal.
Focused outreach campaigns were conducted on social media to encourage early ITR filings. Additionally, unique and creative campaigns were carried out across various platforms. Informational videos in 12 vernacular languages, as well as in English and Hindi, were displayed on digital platforms, and outdoor campaigns were also implemented. These concerted efforts contributed to the increased number of filings.
The distribution of ITRs for AY 2024-25 is as follows: 45.77% ITR-1 (3.34 crore), 14.93% ITR-2 (1.09 crore), 12.50% ITR-3 (91.10 lakh), 25.77% ITR-4 (1.88 crore), and 1.03% ITR-5 to ITR-7 (7.48 lakh). Over 43.82% of these ITRs were filed using the online ITR utility available on the e-filing portal, with the remainder filed using offline utilities.
During the peak filing period, the e-filing portal effectively managed high traffic, providing a seamless experience for taxpayers. On 31st July 2024 alone, there were 3.2 crore successful logins.
The e-verification process is crucial for commencing the processing of ITRs and issuing refunds. It is encouraging to note that over 6.21 crore ITRs have been e-verified, with more than 5.81 crore (93.56%) using Aadhaar-based OTP. Of the e-verified ITRs, more than 2.69 crore ITRs for AY 2024-25 have been processed (43.34%) as of 31st July 2024. Additionally, over 91.94 lakh challans were received through the TIN 2.0 payment system in July 2024 (for AY 2024-25), bringing the total number of challans filed through TIN 2.0 since 1st April 2024 to 1.64 crore (for AY 2024-25).
The e-filing Helpdesk team handled approximately 10.64 lakh queries from taxpayers up to 31st July 2024, offering support through inbound and outbound calls, live chats, WebEx, and co-browsing sessions.
The Helpdesk team also addressed queries received on the X (Twitter) handle of the Department through Online Response Management (ORM), proactively reaching out to taxpayers and stakeholders to assist with various issues in near real-time. Between 1st April and 31st July 2024, the team handled over 1.07 lakh emails and successfully resolved 99.97% of queries.
The Department expresses its gratitude to tax professionals and taxpayers for their support in filing ITRs and Forms. Taxpayers are requested to verify any unverified ITRs within 30 days of filing.
The Department also urges taxpayers who missed the filing deadline for any reason to complete their filings as soon as possible.
