IT return filings climb to record at 7.65 crore  

ITR filings for 2023-24 hit a record 7.65 crore by Oct 31, 11.7% higher than last year. Total ITRs filed this year hit 7.85 crore, 16.1% more than 2022-23. 53.67 lakh taxpayers filed returns for the first time. 7.51 crore ITRs verified, 7.19 crore processed by Oct 31.

Income Tax Return (ITR) filings for this assessment year crossed a record 7.65 crore by October 31, about 11.7% higher than the 6.85 crore returns filed by November 7 last year, the Income Tax Department said on Wednesday. 

Moreover, the total ITRs filed so far in this financial year, for all assessment years, also hit an all-time high of 7.85 crore, compared with a total of 7.78 crore ITRs filed in all of 2022-23. 

October 31 was the deadline for taxpayers whose accounts are required to be audited and who do not have any international or specified domestic transactions. Some crucial statutory forms also have to be filed by the same date, and more than 1.44 crore such forms had been filed by Tuesday, the department said. 

By July 31, which was the filing deadline for most taxpayers, total ITRs filed this year had touched a high of 6.77 crore, reflecting a 16.1% increase, with 53.67 lakh taxpayers filing returns for the first time.  

The IT department said most of the returns filed had been verified and processed already. “Out of the 7.65 crore ITRs filed for Assessment Year 2023-24, more than 7.51 crore ITRs have already been verified.,” the department said. “Out of the 7.51 crore verified ITRs, 7.19 crore [or almost 96%] have already been processed” till October 31, it added.