90% of the Returns would be filed by the taxpayers without the help of the taxpayers from next year onwards: Time for Tax Professionals to visualize the future
Nokia has become the story of the past.
Kodak as a brand of camera is the forgotten name.
Pager service has become outdated before it has settled well in the market.
What Next?
Time for Tax Professional first to read the recent data and press release issued by the Government:
5.89 crore Income Tax Returns filed on new e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department as on 31st December, 2021
Nearly 5.89 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) have been filed on the new e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department as on 31st December, 2021, the extended due date. More than 46.11 lakh ITRs were filed on 31.12.2021. In order to assist taxpayers with a smooth experience on the portal, 16,850 taxpayer calls and 1,467 chats were responded to by the helpdesk. In addition, the Department has been proactively engaging with and reaching out to taxpayers and professionals for assistance on its official Twitter handle. On 31st December, 2021 alone, more than 230 Tweets from taxpayers and professionals were responded to.
Out of 5.89 crore ITRs filed for AY 2021-22 as on 31st December, 49.6% of these are ITR1 (2.92 crore), 9.3% are ITR2 (54.8 lakh), 12.1% are ITR3 (71.05 lakh), 27.2% are ITR4 (1.60 crore), 1.3% are ITR5 (7.66 lakh), ITR6 (2.58 lakh) and ITR7 (0.67 lakh). Over 45.7% of these ITRs have been filed using the online ITR form on the portal and the balance have been uploaded using the ITR created from the offline software utilities.
In comparison, as on 10th January, 2021 (the extended due date for ITRs for AY 2020-21), the total number of ITRs filed was 5.95 crore with 31.05 lakh ITRs filed on the last day ie on 10th January, 2021 as against over 46.11 lakh ITRs filed on the last day this year.
The Department gratefully acknowledges the contribution of the taxpayers, Tax Practitioners, Tax Professionals and others who have made this possible. We reiterate our resolve to work tirelessly to ensure a smooth & stable taxpayer service experience to all.
ANALYSIS:
From above, there are few facts which the tax professional may note and may analyse for their future course of practice:
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Over 45.7% of these ITRs have been filed using the online ITR form on the portal. Majority of this class of return filers are the one who file the return on their own without the help of the consultants.
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Only 1.30% of the taxpayers were the assessee which may be Company, Firm or Trusts.
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Only 12.10% of the assessee are the one who are filing the Return in ITR-3.
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86.10% of the assessee have filed the return in ITR-1, 2 & 4.
Future:
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In Annual Information Statement (AIS), the System was able to capture the date of the purchase and sale of mutual funds and shares. Apart from this, it was able to capture the data of business receipts as well.
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Probably, it will capture the date of STCG/LTCG/ Speculative/ Intra Day profit from next year.
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46.11 Lakh ITR filed on the last day as compared to 31.05 Lakh ITR last year on the last Day. An interesting statics is revealed by the CBDT to convey that the return filing activity is going to be simpler, without any hurdle and it would be easy for the taxpayers to file the return without the use of any technology / software as such.
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The new income tax portal has enough knowledge material just linked with the column and form which is sure to act as a ready reference material for the taxpayers to file the return form. Result: Taxpayers can file the return on their own.
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The Government has already announced its intention to go for pre-filled income tax returns soon and the stage is all set for this. The above figures of ITR-1,2, & 4 shows that around 90% of the taxpayers would be able to file the return without the help of the consultants on their own as the date related to such ITR are ideally fully available in the Income Tax Department data base.
