26% ITRs yet to be processed after 22 days of the deadline, will your ITR come under scrutiny?
The Income Tax Department has processed 73.71% of all the verified income tax returns (ITRs) as of August 22, 2024, 1 pm. According to data available on the e-filing ITR portal, 7,13,00,901 ITRs were verified and 5,25,53,097 ITRs were processed as on date. This means 26.29% or 1,87,47,804 ITRs are yet to be processed (7,13,00,901 minus 5,25,53,097). If you fall in this 26% group, then you might be curious as to why your ITR has yet to be processed, as more than half of the ITRs have already been processed.#sr_widget.onDemand p, #stock_pro.onDemand p{font-size: 14px;line-height: 1.28;} .onDemand .live_stock{left:17px;padding:1px 3px 1px 5px;font-size:12px;font-weight:600;line-height:18px;top:9px} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc{margin:0 auto 0;} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc{color: #024d99;margin-top:10px;} #sr_widget.onDemand .crypto .live_stock .lb-icon{8px 6px 5px 3px !important} #sr_widget.crypto.onDemand a.text{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;padding-bottom:5px;display:block;width:100%} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc .text p, #stock_pro.onDemand .sr_desc .text p{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;}
Source: ITR e-filing portal as of August 22, 2024.The Income Tax Department's Centralized Processing Center (CPC) processes ITRs digitally using automated systems. "Given that most tax returns were filed in the last week of July, near the due date, it is commendable that 70% of them have already been processed in just 20 days. The remaining returns are expected to be processed soon. Once an ITR is processed, taxpayers who claim a tax refund can expect it soon," says Ankit Jain, partner, Ved Jain & Associates. However, when we compare it with the recent data on average processing time coming down to 11 days in 2023 from 93 days in 2013, it appears that the IT department may be taking more time on the remaining ITRs.
Processing of ITR has nothing to do with selection of ITR for scrutiny
If you are wondering whether your ITR has been picked for scrutiny, since about 5.2 crore ITRs out of 7.1 crore have been processed already, then it is nothing to worry about. Experts emphasize that the processing and selection of ITRs for scrutiny are independent processes."It's important to note that the selection of returns for scrutiny is handled independently by the tax authorities and is unrelated to the processing of tax returns. The processing stage primarily checks for mathematical accuracy and verifies claims for tax credits. Scrutiny notices are issued later when the tax authorities identify ITRs that require further examination or additional information," says Jain.
"I would say, that while there is a slight chance, it’s more likely that the delay is due to procedural reasons rather than scrutiny. There is a possibility, but it’s not necessarily the case that all unprocessed ITRs are picked for scrutiny. If your ITR were selected for scrutiny, you would typically receive a notice or communication from the Income Tax Department outlining the reason and required actions. Additionally, it’s important to note that even if your ITR is processed without any demand, it can still be selected for scrutiny later," says CA Swapnil Patni, Founder, SPC Edutech.
CA Sandeep Agrawal, Co-founder & Director of Teamlease Regtech concurs with Jain and adds, "While it's possible that a portion of the unprocessed ITRs may be flagged for scrutiny, this is unlikely to be the primary reason for the delay in processing of such a large percentage of filings."
Why your ITR may not have been processed as on date
Experts say there could be multiple reasons why your ITR has not been processed. Some of these reasons include PAN name mismatch cases, complicated ITR forms, scrutiny cases, etc. CA Abhishek Soni, co-founder, Tax2Win, believes that the delay in processing of such a substantial portion of ITRs could be due to the type of ITR form chosen by the taxpayer.
"ITR forms like ITR-2 and ITR-3 are more complex because they cater to individuals with multiple income sources, including capital gains, business or professional income, and foreign assets. These forms require more detailed information, which can lead to longer processing times compared to simpler forms like ITR-1. The complexity of the information and the need for thorough verification could be why a significant percentage of these filings take longer to process," says Soni.
Agrawal says that larger tax refund claims could also be a reason behind the delay in processing.
"A possible reason why tax refunds are getting delayed for some taxpayers could be that their refund claims are large, so they need rigorous checks and balances by the tax authorities. Moreover, ITRs with errors, incomplete information, or inconsistencies (such as mismatched PAN details or incorrect bank information) are typically flagged for review. This can delay the processing of such ITRs," he explains. #sr_widget.onDemand p, #stock_pro.onDemand p{font-size: 14px;line-height: 1.28;} .onDemand .live_stock{left:17px;padding:1px 3px 1px 5px;font-size:12px;font-weight:600;line-height:18px;top:9px} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc{margin:0 auto 0;} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc{color: #024d99;margin-top:10px;} #sr_widget.onDemand .crypto .live_stock .lb-icon{8px 6px 5px 3px !important} #sr_widget.crypto.onDemand a.text{border-bottom:1px solid #ccc;padding-bottom:5px;display:block;width:100%} #sr_widget.onDemand .sr_desc .text p, #stock_pro.onDemand .sr_desc .text p{font-size:12px;font-weight:400;}
This story originally appeared on: India Times - Author:Faqs of Insurances
