I-T refunds below Rs 50,000 get faster

In a good news for lakhs of taxpayers awaiting their IT refunds, the government has directed the taxman to “expeditiously” settle claims involving less than Rs 50,000.

According to government data, over Rs 5,400 crore is locked in pending refunds, which has become a major grievance for taxpayers. Officials said that instructions in this regard were issued early this week after a review meeting was held by revenue secretary Hasmukh Adhia with senior CBDT officials as part of finance ministry’s drive to ensure a taxpayer-friendly regime.

The directive issued by the CBDT to all principal chief commissioners asks them to direct the assessing officers to expedite the process and issue refunds of less than Rs 50,000 and not facing scrutiny “as early as possible.”

As per the order, as of November 1, refunds have to be made on 2.07 lakh I-T returns involving Rs 659 crore for Assessment Year 2013-14 and another set of 12.90 lakh returns pertaining to Rs 4,837 crore for AY 2014-15 which are pending.