Excellent results from tech in detecting tax evasion: CBDT Chief

June 3, 2023

Synopsis
CBDT chairman Nitin Gupta said technology had also helped in providing ease to taxpayers through expeditious processing of income tax returns (ITRs) and use of non-intrusive means to check evasion.

The income tax department is using technology extensively to identify and detect tax evasion, which has given excellent results, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairman Nitin Gupta said Friday, adding that the use of technology will be scaled up to deepen and widen the tax base.

Gupta said technology had also helped in providing ease to taxpayers through expeditious processing of income tax returns (ITRs) and use of non-intrusive means to check evasion.

“Deterrence is an essential prerequisite for the success of any voluntary, compliance-based tax system. The department is using technology extensively to identify and detect tax evasion, which has given excellent results,” Gupta said.

He was speaking at Samvaad, an online interaction session with taxpayers and field formations, organised by the income tax department.

He added that with the Permanent Account Number (PAN) being declared as a unique identifier for several processes, the role of income tax was going to deepen further. "We have expedited the processing of returns and issue of refunds,” he said.

The average time taken for processing of returns was reduced to 16 days in FY23 from 26 days in 2021-22, Gupta said.

Talking about technology advancement undertaken by the department, Gupta said it achieved a "peak processing capacity of nearly 22.94 lakh returns in a single day on July 28, 2022".

[The Economic Times]