New Delhi, Aug 21 (PTI) - The Income Tax department on Friday said it has issued refunds worth ₹ 88,652 crore to over 24 lakh taxpayers so far this fiscal.

This include personal income tax (PIT) refunds amounting to ₹ 28,180 crore issued to over 23.05 lakh taxpayers and corporate tax refunds amounting to ₹ 60,472 crore to over 1.58 lakh taxpayers during this period.

"CBDT has, so far, issued refunds of over ₹ 88,652 crore to more than 24.64 lakh taxpayers from 1st April, 2020 onwards. Income tax refunds of ₹ 28,180 crore have been issued in 23,05,726 cases & corporate tax refunds of ₹ 60,472 crore have been issued in 1,58,280 cases," the Income Tax department tweeted.

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) is the apex decision-making body in direct tax matters, administers personal income tax and corporate tax.

The government has emphasised on providing tax related services to taxpayers without any hassles during COVID-19 pandemic and to that end has been clearing up pending tax refunds.

Income tax refunds issued to large numbers of taxpayers, reinforcing tax administration efforts to clear pending refunds and aid taxpayers. The tax administration has disbursed substantial personal and corporate tax refunds by aggregate value and case counts since 1 April 2020, demonstrating operational throughput of the refund mechanism. The statement emphasises clearing pending refunds and sustaining tax-related services during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of taxpayer service and continuity measures.