JOIN USThe government has speeded up paying income tax refunds. More than 2.10 crore refunds amounting to Rs 1,22,425 crore have been paid in fiscal 2016. The government refunded Rs 1,12,188 crore in fiscal 2015, as compared with Rs 89,664 crore in fiscal 2014.
According to government data, at least 80% of the refund amount granted within five days for service exporters.
Both the Central Board of Director Taxes (CBDT) and Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) were making optimum use of technology for expeditious disposal of assessment and refunds as well as for addressing the issues relating to custom clearance and facilitating trade, among others, it said.
In the fiscal 2016, more than 94% of income tax returns were filed online and 4.14 crore returns were processed by the Central Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru, without any human intervention.
Indirect tax collections have also shown turn around during fiscal 2016. With growth in indirect tax collections, the indirect tax to GDP ratio for fiscal 2016 is about 5.17% as compared with 4.36% in fiscal 2015.
The indirect taxes to GDP ratio for the current fiscal 2017 is estimated to be 5.20%. E-payment of Central Excise and Service Tax refunds and rebates through RTEGS/NEFT has been implemented. About 80% of the refund amount granted within five days for service exporters. Single window interface for facilitating trade (SWIFT) acts as a single point interface for over 50 offices of six government agencies for clearance of exim goods and reduces documentation and costs, thereby benefiting over 97% of India’s imports.