The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has taken many citizen-centric initiatives throughout the year.

Board has furthered initiatives through reforms by focusing on taxpayer outreach, assistance through active helpdesks, and has embraced faceless processes, showcasing a commitment to transparency and efficiency. The revamped national website and other digital initiatives have also contributed to an overall improved taxpayer experience, Ministry of Finance highlighted.

In 2023, gross tax collections of Rs. 12.67 lakh crore mark a 17.7% YoY increase, with net collections reaching Rs. 10.64 lakh crore, reflecting a 23.4% growth. Notably, 58.34% of the budget estimates for the fiscal year have already been realized. Speedy processing and refunds are evident, with over Rs. 2.03 lakh crore refunded, and more than 3.43 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) processed within 7 days, it said.

The introduction of initiatives like TIN 2.0, pre-filling of ITRs, and updated returns has streamlined processes, resulting in 44.76 lakh updated returns filed.

According to the data shared by the Ministry of Finance, 7.97 crore ITRS filed for all AYS till November 30, 2023. Highest filing of ITRS in one day was on 31st July, 2023 at 64.33 lakh ITRS filed.

Maximum ITRS filed in a month was in July, 2023 at 5.5 crore ITRS filed. ITR filing per second: 486 (At 4:35 pm on 31st July, 2023). ITR filing per minute: 8,622 (at 5:54 pm on 31st July, 2023), ITR filing per hour: 4,96,559 (between 5PM to 6PM on 31st July, 2023).

GST broke all records of previous collections and achieved the highest ever tax revenue collection for April 2023 at Rs 1.87 lakh crore. To streamline the filing process, sequential filing of GSTR-1 and GSTR-3B has been mandated, promoting timely returns and smooth availability of input tax credit.

Also, the Department of Expenditure which oversees the public financial management system in the Central Government and matters connected with State finances, has also shared the performance for the year 2023.

DoE approved grants-in-aid totalling Rs 1,79,140 crore to State Governments for the fiscal year 2023-24.

With over 104.02 crore beneficiaries registered under various schemes, Public Financial Management System (PFMS) has facilitated the efficient transfer of funds, with an emphasis on real-time tracking and accessibility. Payments in 1,016 schemes, including state schemes, are made through PFMS.

More than 113 payment systems in India are integrated with PFMS, the department told.

The ministry told that Rs 37,844.42 crore paid through 18.92 crore transactions under PM-KISAN Yojana during the FY 2023-24 till November 2023.

For PAHAL gas subsidy, having beneficiary over 30 crore, Rs 8,142.49 crore paid through 76.95 crore transactions during FY 2023-24 till November 2023.

With an average 17,200 hits per day, DBT payment tracker has successfully met the needs of beneficiaries since its deployment on August 23,2023. Total hits as on December 5 is 21,00,764.