Atul Sharma
Early Times Report
Jammu, Aug 3: The Income Tax Department has recovered tax revenue worth Rs 12,121.91 crore through a nationwide technology-driven campaign to detect wrongful tax relief claims, fake deductions and tax evasion over the past two financial years, the Government informed the Lok Sabha on Monday. Replying to an unstarred question by MP Adv. K. Francis George, Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has detected numerous cases of wrongful tax reliefs and non-genuine deduction claims during the last five years through data analytics, verification exercises, searches and surveys conducted against entities, professional intermediaries and other persons suspected of facilitating fraudulent claims.
The Minister said the Department’s SAKSHAM NUDGE (Non-intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable) compliance campaign has yielded significant results during FY 2024-25 and FY 2025-26. As many as 1.25 crore updated or revised Income Tax Returns (ITRs) were filed by taxpayers following targeted communications issued by the Department after advanced risk analysis.
These revised filings resulted in additional tax payments of Rs 9,493.66 crore, while the overall revenue impact of the campaign stood at Rs 12,121.91 crore, reflecting the success of technology-enabled compliance measures.
The Government said wrongful tax relief claims were identified using sophisticated in-house data analytics systems that analyse information received from multiple sources, including Statements of Financial Transactions (SFTs), Tax Deducted at Source (TDS), Tax Collected at Source (TCS), GST records, high-value banking transactions, property registration data and other third-party information.
According to the Finance Ministry, dynamic risk rules are continuously refined to identify suspicious returns exhibiting characteristics of potential tax evasion. The system undertakes identity-blind analysis of Income Tax Returns, tax audit reports and information received from various enforcement agencies to detect incorrect reporting of income, excessive deductions and unverifiable claims.
The Minister informed the House that the Department has identified categories of entities and intermediaries involved in facilitating fraudulent claims, including tax return preparers and chartered accountants. Action taken against such entities includes e-verification, searches, surveys, reassessments, penalties and prosecution. Relevant information has also been shared with regulatory bodies, including the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), for appropriate action wherever required.
On accountability, the Government said fixing responsibility for lapses by officials is a continuous process and disciplinary action is initiated whenever any irregularity is detected in accordance with the applicable rules.
To further strengthen tax compliance, the CBDT has introduced several preventive measures, including pre-filled ITRs, enhanced PAN-based validation systems, real-time verification of taxpayer information, advanced data analytics, digital scrutiny, NUDGE campaigns, e-verification, and search and survey operations aimed at preventing fraudulent tax claims and improving voluntary compliance. |
