In a major crackdown on incorrect tax deductions, The Income-Tax department recovered Rs 1,070 crore of wrongful refunds claimed from nearly 90,000 taxpayers. The erring taxpayers filed updated income tax returns (ITRs) for assessment years from FY23 to FY25 after doing the corrections.
The tax deduction were claimed on deductions on investments, medical insurance premiums and medical expenses, interests on educational loans, donations to charities and political parties leading to a reduction in taxes payable by the assesses.
About The Income Tax Probe
According to the Income Tax probe, data analytics and scrutiny of “email clusters” showed many such taxpayers were employees of public-sector undertakings, multinational corporations and private limited companies with verification of several hundred tax returns uncovered unscrupulous elements had misguided taxpayers making bogus refund claims.
Taxmen Express Shock
The taxmen were shocked at the large-scale tax evasion filing fake claims by employees of several public-sector units like Neyveli Lignite Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals, and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation, multinational companies like Oracle, Amazon, and Accenture.
The tax department has conducted outreach programmes with employers to raise awareness about the consequences of claiming incorrect deductions and emphasised the importance of voluntary compliance. “The taxpayers are advised to utilise the updated return mechanism to avoid punitive action. taxpayers can rectify such errors and file updated returns to correct errors of omission or commission,” warned a senior tax official.
