The Income Tax Department has said that a record breaking 7.28 crore ITRs were submitted for the AY 2024-25 within the July 31 deadline, up by 7.5 percent from last year’s figures for the same period. This kind of increase speaks of higher compliance and greater awareness about taxes among people.
The ministry also drew attention to the preference for the new tax regime that has lower rates but fewer deductions. In all ITRs filed, 5.27 crore, which is 72% chose the new regime while 2.01 crore or 28% went with the old one. Such a huge shift tells about how much people love to simplify the tax structure.
More First-Time Filers Than Ever
The widening of the taxpayer base was seen with 58.57 lakh first-time filers filing their returns. The spurt indicates successful outreach efforts by the government to bring more people into the tax net.
Of the total ITRs filed, 6.21 crore returns underwent e-verification, which is a pre-requisite for processing of refunds. “Of the e-verified ITRs, more than 2.69 crore (43.34%) have already been processed by July 31, 2024,” the ministry stated, indicating smooth backend operations.
On July 31, a massive rush was witnessed as 69.92 lakh tax returns were filed. This happened to be the busiest day for ITR submissions. The e-filing portal recorded its highest hourly submission rate of 5.07 lakh returns between 7:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
The finance ministry gave the credit to focused outreach campaigns on social media that motivated taxpayers to file in advance. Moreover, the e-filing helpdesk team resolved around 10.64 lakh queries before the deadline, providing uninterrupted assistance to users.
Missed Deadline? File Returns By December 31
The ones who missed the deadline of July 31 have a window to file returns until December 31, 2024. In case of late filing, a penalty of ₹1,000 is charged on annual incomes below ₹5 lakh and ₹5,000 on incomes above ₹5 lakh.
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