Income Tax: More than 300 Million Income Tax Returns Filed by July 18, 7 Days Ahead of Last Year's Pace. 

More people have been filing income tax returns this year compared to last year! The Income Tax Department announced that over 300 million Income Tax Returns (ITRs) for the assessment year 2023-24 have already been filed by July 18th this year, surpassing the same number of ITRs filed by July 25th last year.

In a tweet, Income Tax India expressed gratitude to taxpayers and tax professionals for helping them achieve this milestone of reaching 300 million ITRs, seven days earlier than the previous year.

Out of the 306 million ITRs filed by July 18th, 2023, more than 281 million ITRs have been e-verified, which means over 91% of the filed ITRs have been e-verified. Among the e-verified ITRs, more than 150 million have already undergone processing.

The Income Tax Department stated, "Therefore, we aim to maintain this momentum and encourage those who haven't filed their Income Tax Returns (ITR) for the assessment year 2023-24 to do so as soon as possible to avoid any last-minute rush."

According to a tax practitioner, individuals are making efforts to file their income tax returns well before the deadline this year, as the government did not extend the ITR deadline as it did last year. The practitioner also mentioned that filing ITR early leads to receiving refunds earlier, which is something people are keeping in mind.

The deadline for filing the income tax return for the assessment year 2023-24 is July 31st. Unlike last year, the deadline was not extended beyond July 31st.

Revenue Secretary Sanjay Malhotra, as reported by PTI, has urged income taxpayers to file their returns as soon as possible, as the finance ministry has no plans to extend the July 31 deadline.

In an interview with PTI, he expressed expectations of higher filing numbers compared to the previous year, stating, "We anticipate that the filing numbers would be higher than last year. We are optimistic that it will surpass the previous year."

Also Read: IT Department Clarifies What NRIs With Inoperative PAN Cards Can Do