In a step that would bring delight to taxpayers, the Income Taxdepartment has put in motion a new plan which will ensure that any refund on tax paid is safely deposited in their personal bank account as soon as it is processed and released.
The department is also planning to fully adopt and use banking services to end the current system of sending I-T refunds over the value of Rs 50,000 via cheques through the postal department.
CBDT Chairperson Anita Kapur, during a recent interaction with the media, said the plan is being worked out on priority and is aimed at bringing an end to taxpayers’ grievances regarding this particular service.
She said that Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) got in touch with banks and their regulator, Reserve Bank of India (RBI), after it found that the problem of wrong refunds or no refunds at all was continuing unabated.
RBI, Kapur said, told them that in the e-environment, when a refund is sent directly to a taxpayer’s bank account, the existing protocols are such that banks do not match the name to the account number.
“They only look at the account number and to whichever account number the cheque is issued, the (refund) will get credited there.
“We have a large number of instances where people quote wrong account numbers and, if we were to send refunds to those account numbers, and the banking system does not match the account number with the name, then the chances of taxpayers being further aggrieved are much larger,” the CBDT boss said.
