Government has stopped publishing All India Income Tax Statistics since the year 2000. The data published in the All India Income Tax Statistics is based on the estimates being made on relatively small sample size. The small sample size was not representative of the population of tax payers/assesses for different categories. Therefore, it was considered by National Statistical Commission (NSC) in one of its recommendations to make sample size representative and broad based. This recommendation came in the wake of number of tax payers/assesses having been increased over the years. Secondly, the National Statistical Commission also pointed out time lag of 2 to 3 years in the publication of Income Tax statistics. The said publication was discontinued with the aim of bringing it out with computerization and networking of all offices under Central Board of Direct Taxes.

The Government now proposes to restore the publication in the revised format in public domain.

This was stated by Shri Jayant Sinha, Minister of State in the Ministry of Finance in written reply to a question in Lok Sabha today.

Income tax statistics publication to be restored in revised format after addressing sample representativeness and publication delays. The Government proposes to restore publication of All India Income Tax Statistics in a revised format for public release after addressing prior deficiencies: reliance on estimates from a relatively small, non-representative sample of taxpayers, and a two- to three-year publication lag. The resumption is to follow measures to broaden the sample and to modernise data collection through computerisation and networking of tax offices to improve timeliness and representativeness.