I-T Department picks up 68,000 'high-value' cases for e-verification

As many as 68,000 cases have been picked up for e-verification by the income tax department for unreporting or under reporting of income in tax returns for 2019-20 fiscal, CBDT chief Nitin Gupta said on Monday.

Under the e-verification scheme, the I-T Department informs the taxpayers about mismatch in Annual Information Statement (AIS) about financial transaction and the I-T returns filed. The taxpayer can reply to the tax department giving explanation for the mismatch or can file updated returns if they feel the mismatch flagged in e-verification notice is correct.

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"On a pilot basis, about 68,000 cases pertaining to 2019-20 fiscal have been taken up for e-verification based on risk management parameters set by the department. Of this, in 56 per cent cases or 35,000 cases the taxpayer have already satisfactorily replied to the notice or filed updated tax return," Gupta said.

He said a total of 15 lakh updated returns have been filed so far and Rs 1,250 crore worth tax was collected. However, no response has been received in the remaining 33,000 cases.

Taxpayers have time till March 31, 2023, to file updated returns for income earned in 2019-20 fiscal.

"Once an assessee files updated ITR, there are less chances of his/her case getting picked up for scrutiny or re-assessment," Gupta said at a media interaction here.

The risk parameters for picking returns for e-verification would be set every year, Gupta said, without disclosing the criteria for selection of an ITR for e-verification.

"The 68,000 cases picked up for e-verification was based on mismatch between tax return filed and the data received from source with regard to deposits. The selection is computer driven. If you do not respond to the e-verification notices, chances are high that the case would be selected for scrutiny," Gupta said.

Nudging taxpayers to view his/her AIS regularly, Gupta said taxpayers should give feedback to the department if they see any mismatch.

"The e-verification scheme is a non-intrusive way to nudge taxpayers to file updated returns in case of mismatch. It is transparent, without any human interface, encourages voluntary compliance and would help cut down litigation," said the chief of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

Once the department informs a taxpayer electronically about his case picked up for e-verification, the taxpayer is given 15 days time to respond to the intimation from the I-T Department. The CBDT has a timeline of 90 days for completing a particular case under e-verification, but complicated cases could take longer.

The e-verification scheme was notified on December 13, 2021, and pilot was launched in September 2022. The last date for filing updated returns for 2019-20 fiscal ends on March 31, 2023.