AVERAGE PROCESSING TIME OF RETURNS COMES DOWN FROM 93 DAYS IN 2013-14 TO JUST TEN DAYS NOW

“Over the last ten years, the direct tax collections have more than trebled and the return filers swelled to 2.4 times”, the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs, Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman said, while presenting the Interim Budget 2024-25 in the Parliament today. The Minister assured  taxpayers that their contributions have been used wisely for the development of the country and welfare of its people. She appreciated the tax payers for their support.

Smt. Sitharaman further added that under the new tax regime, the tax rates have been reduced and rationalised. There is now no tax liability for tax payers with income up to ₹ 7 lakh, up from ₹ 2.2 lakh in the financial year 2013-14. The threshold for presumptive taxation for retail businesses was increased from ₹ 2 crore to ₹ 3 crore. Similarly, the threshold for professionals eligible for presumptive taxation was increased from ₹ 50 lakh to ₹ 75 lakh. Also, corporate tax rate was decreased from 30 per cent to 22 per cent for existing domestic companies and to 15 per cent for certain new manufacturing companies.

The Union Minister highlighted that in the last five years, the government’s focus had been to improve tax-payer services. “The age-old jurisdiction-based assessment system was transformed with the introduction of Faceless Assessment and Appeal, thereby imparting greater efficiency, transparency and accountability”, she said.

Smt. Sitharaman also asserted that the introduction of updated income tax returns, a new Form 26AS and pre-filling of tax returns have made filing of tax returns simpler and easier, reducing average processing time of returns from 93 days in the year 2013-14 to a mere ten days this year, thereby making refunds faster.

Income tax regime reform reduces rates and expands thresholds, while streamlining filing and accelerating refund processing. The interim budget introduces reduced personal and corporate tax rates and higher presumptive taxation thresholds, alongside administrative reforms including faceless assessment and appeal, updated income-tax return forms, a revised Form 26AS, and pre-filling of returns, measures said to have expanded return filers, increased direct tax collections, and sharply reduced average return processing time.