CBDT to add 13 mn new income tax filers this year; UP sees highest target

CBDT intends to add a sizeable number of new taxpayers in the current financial year

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has said that nearly 13 million income tax filers are likely to be added during the current financial year 2018-19 (FY19). The expected target was disclosed in a confidential action plan of CBDT. This is a part of the government’s strategy to widen the tax base in the country and its campaign against the menace of black money, reported The Times of India.

The higher number of tax filings will help the government to meet the direct tax collections target for the financial year. The CBDT aims to add a sizeable number of new taxpayers in the current financial year. Also, to encourage voluntary compliance in filing I-T returns, awareness meetings and outreach programmes will be held, said a TOI report.

A new I-T return filer is defined as a person who is not present in the taxpayer base at the beginning of the financial year or who has not filed return in the previous years but then file their returns and is liable to do so under the law.

According to the TOI report, the Mumbai and the Delhi regions of the department have been given the targets to add 670,000 and 700,000 new I-T filers respectively. With a firm focus on tier –II and III cities, Pune has been given the rigid target of 1.1 million. Uttar Pradesh, being a populous state, is allotted a collective target of over 1.3 million. Tamil Nadu has an overall target of more than 1 million new tax filers. 

The action plan, which is released on an annual basis, calls upon I-T department officers to use data mining and data analytics to identify potential taxpayers and also utilise disseminated data, local intelligence, inputs from markets associations and trade and professional bodies to recognise non I-T return filers. Moreover, CBDT that makes policy decisions for the I-T department, will monitor the targets which is achieved on the quarterly basis. Furthermore, "Project Insight", a data analytics programme, aids in detecting and analysing mismatches in income declared by the taxpayer and spending patterns, reported TOI.