The Income Tax department has asked income tax return filers to not make bogus claims for expenses, under-report their earnings, or exaggerate deductions as this is a punishable offence and causes a delay in the issuance of refunds.
In a recent public communication, the department asked taxpayers to file their returns correctly to get timely refunds.
“Refund claims are subject to verification checks, which may cause delays. Accurate filing of ITR leads to quicker processing of refunds. Any discrepancies in the claims made will prompt a request for a revised return (to be filed by the taxpayer),” it said.
It cautioned ITR filing taxpayers to not claim “incorrect” Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) amounts, not “under-report” their income or “exaggerate” deductions or submit claims for “bogus” expenses.
The department informed the taxpayers that their claims should be “correct and accurate.”
“Filing a false or bogus claim is a punishable offence,” the public communication said.
Taxpayers can claim a variety of deductions and exemptions to lower their tax liability under the old ITR filing regime while those opting for the new regime will get a lower tax rate but cannot avail of these benefits.
The communication stated that in case due refunds are delayed, taxpayers should check their e-filing account to see if the IT department has sent them any message in this context and if yes, then it should be responded to through the “pending action and worklist section” tab.
ITR Filing Last Date 2024
The ITR filing season for assessment year 2024-25 will end on July 31 for all categories of taxpayers whose accounts are not supposed to be audited.
According to the IT department and its administrative body Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), over five crore ITRs have been filed, as of July 26.
(With PTI inputs)
