Sitharaman pushes Income Tax department to redress grievances on time, unveils 5Rs
Jul 25, 2026
The finance minister urged the department to acknowledge every complaint promptly, and communicate with clarity. She also asked it to prioritise 5Rs—recognise, respond, redress, reflect and reform
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman asked the Income Tax Department to redress genuine taxpayer grievances “fairly and within defined timelines”, while also laying out a five-point governance framework as the department marked its 167th Income Tax Day on Friday. This was also the first since the new Income Tax Act, 2025 came into force. “The responsibility of the Income Tax Department has widened from a narrow focus on ‘tax collection’ to a broader commitment to fairness, efficiency, ease of doing business and service,” she said, adding that the focus has shifted to “improving taxpayer services”.
The 5Rs of responsive tax governance
Speaking at the department’s annual event, Sitharaman said it must move beyond its past gains and prioritise what she called the 5Rs—recognise, respond, redress, reflect and reform. Under this framework, officers are expected to acknowledge every complaint promptly, communicate with clarity and empathy, resolve genuine grievances within set timelines, study root causes of recurring issues, and continuously reform processes to prevent repeat complaints.
Grievance disposal improves, but processing lags
The finance minister cited data showing the department had disposed of 94 percent of nearly 78,000 grievances filed through CPGRAMS portal in 2025-26, with average disposal time falling from 57 to 28 days, and the share resolved within 21 days rising to 67 percent. On the e-Nivaran platform, 95 percent of 3.5 lakh grievances were cleared, though average disposal time remained higher at 42 days. She said the department should now also focus on “grievance intelligence”—systematically analysing patterns to detect recurring issues across regions.
Returns filed, refunds pending
On the filing season, Sitharaman noted that over 3.2 crore Income Tax returns had been filed as of July 21, with 94 percent verified and 60 percent processed. On the other hand, she said more than 1.3 crore refund claims were received, of which 96 percent were verified, but only 40 percent processed, pointing to a need to shorten processing timelines further.
On litigation
Sitharaman also flagged progress on litigation reduction, with total pendency falling by over 34,000 cases to 5.4 lakh appeals; 6,000 departmental appeals were withdrawn following revised monetary thresholds announced in Budget 2024-25. The minister also called for a shift from “litigation management” to “litigation prevention”, resting on the three pillars of clarity, consistency and continuous institutional learning.
The finance minister urged the department to invest equally in officer training in artificial intelligence, data analytics and forensic accounting as it pursues the goal of Viksit Bharat by 2047.
[Forbes India]
