The income tax refund has recorded a great increase of 474% in the last 11 years, which is the result of improving tax administration and increasing use of digital technology. In the year 2013-14, the Income Tax Department issued refunds of Rs 83,008 crore, which has increased to Rs 4.77 lakh crore in 2024-25. During this time, the time of the refund process has also come down from 93 days to only 17 days, which shows the decrease of 81%.
Steps such as online returns filing, faceless assessment, pre-found returns, automated refund processing, real-time TDS adjustment and online grievance redressal system have made the refund process fast, precise and convenient for taxpayers. These reforms have not only made the process transparent, but have also improved the experience of taxpayers, which has increased the confidence of taxpayers on the system.
Tax collection also increased
Also, in the last 11 years, gross direct tax collection has also increased by 274%, which has increased from Rs 7.22 lakh crore to Rs 27.03 lakh crore. A 133% increase in the number of those filing income tax returns has been recorded, which has increased from 3.8 crores to 8.89 crore in 2013 to 8.89 crore. This growth shows the expansion of taxpayer base and increasing participation in the tax system.
In the year 2024-25, 17.6% of the gross direct tax collection was refunded as refund, which was 11.5% in 2013-14. This increase in refund ratio is a sign of increasing confidence in the tax system and strong TDS and advanced tax system. As the taxpayer base is increasing and the use of digital technology is increasing, the amount of refund and frequency is also increasing continuously, which shows the efficiency of the Indian tax system.
