I-T refunds drop 16% due to checks against frauds

NEW DELHI: Income tax refunds have declined 16% so far this year as authorities have built filters for payments above a specified threshold to guard against frauds.Latest data released by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on Monday showed that between April and Oct 12, gross direct tax collections were 2.4% higher at Rs 13.9 lakh crore as the impact of a sharp reduction in personal income tax showed.

During this period, according to the official data, refunds fell from over Rs 2.4 lakh crore to little above Rs 2 lakh crore as non-corporate tax refunds almost halved to Rs 62,359 crore from over Rs 1.2 lakh crore in the corresponding period last year.

“Due to automated validation and additional risk-assessment checks put in place at CPC to prevent incorrect refund claims, which sometimes take additional time to ensure accuracy. All ITRs (income tax returns) in which refunds claimed are above a particular threshold are going through additional checks,” said an official, adding that the threshold differs depending on the category of taxpayers. A fall in refunds has meant that net direct tax collections went up 6.3% to almost Rs 11.9 lakh crore so far this year.