The process of tax returns has been very quick and has come down to only 10 days, said Nitin Gupta, chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxation.
Gupta said that 22% returns were processed in one day along with issuing refunds. “Our endeavour is to reduce it further and become taxpayer-friendly,” he told to NDTV.
In the current year, the economy is growing at 20% net of refunds, said Gupta. “We are in a very comfortable position as the processing of returns has been completed and we have issued refunds segregating to Rs 2.78 lakh crore in the current year.”
"In the present year, the GST growth has been very healthy," said Sanjay Aggarwal, chairman of the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs.
The target set for FY25 appear to be realistic and achievable and not conservative, as the indirect tax receipts includes both custom and excise duties, he said.
On the customs front, the merchandise trade impact has come down from $548 billion last year to $505 billion this year, as per the Commerce Ministry report, Aggarwal said. This also has an impact on custom duties, he said.
The CBDT Chairman also said they are working towards improving their relationship with the taxpayer, by introducing schemes such as faceless appeal and faceless assessment.
He urged people to pay taxes on time, which will be useful for the growth of gross domestic product and achieve the target of becoming a 'Viksit Bharat' by 2047.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the interim budget 2024 on Thursday, with a focus on infrastructure, housing and growth while maintaining its fiscal consolidation path.
Keeping the upcoming elections in mind, the Finance Minister has made no changes in the direct and indirect tax structures and has set the tax receipts target at Rs 26.02 lakh crore.