Lok Sabha Question No. 2352 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2023-12-18
Subject: Increase in filing of ITR
Ministry: FINANCE
Asked by: Sanjay Seth, Thalikkottai Rajuthevar Baalu

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.2352

TO BE ANSWERED ON MONDAY, THE 18 th  DECEMBER, 2023 AGRAHAYANA 27, 1945 (SAKA)

## 'INCREASE IN FILING OF ITR'

## 2352. SHRI SANJAY SETH: SHRI T.R. BAALU

Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:

(a) whether the filing of Income Tax Returns (ITR) has seen a sharp increase during the last five years,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  along  with  the  zero  liability  ITR  filed  during  the  above-said period, State-wise;

(b)  whether the increase in the number of persons filing tax returns brought in a proportionate increase in tax amount collection, if not, the reasons therefor;

(c)   the details of people filed ITR from Jharkhand in the financial years 2021-22 and 2022-23, district-wise;

(d)   the steps taken or proposed to be taken by the Government to further increase the number of persons filing ITR;

(e)      whether  the  personal  income  tax  limit  has  not  been  increased  to  the  level  commensurate with the creamy layer income levels prescribed for reservation purposes in recruitments of OBCs and EWS; and

(f)    if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE (SHRI PANKAJ CHOUDHARY)

(a): (i) Yes, there has been an increase in the number of returns filed in the last five years. The state  wise  number  of  persons  who  have  filed  ITRs  in  the  last  five  years  is  submitted  as  per Annexure-'A'

(ii)  State-wise number of persons whose I-T return amount to zero tax liability during the last four years is submitted as Annexure-'B'.

- (b) There may not be proportionate increase in direct tax collection and number of income tax returns filed because the direct tax collection is dependent upon multiple factors which include tax  rate  applicable  for  relevant  assessment  year,  admissible  deductions/  exemptions  under  the law, overall economic growth in various sectors in economy, etc.  However, the data of net direct tax Collection from F.Y. 2018-19 to F.Y. 2022-23  is as under:

(Rs in Crore)

| FY       | Net Direct Tax Collection (in crores)   |
|----------|-----------------------------------------|
| 2018-19  | 11,37,718                               |
| 2019-20  | 10,50,681                               |
| 2020-21  | 9,47,176                                |
| 2021-22  | 14,12,422                               |
| 2022-23* | 16,63,686                               |

- (c)  The district wise data of ITRs filed for 2021-22 and 2022-23 is not maintained. However, details of ITRs filed from Jharkhand for 2021-22 and 2022-23 is as under:
- (d) Steps taken by the Government to further increase the number of persons filing ITR are as under -
- (i) New Form 26AS - This new form contains all information of deduction or collection of tax at  source, specified financial transaction (SFT), and payment of taxes, demand and refund etc. Further, details of SFT data in the Form 26AS makes taxpayer aware about their transactions beforehand and encourages them to disclose their true income.
- (ii) Pre-filling of Income-tax Returns - In order to make tax compliance easier pre- filled Income tax Returns (ITR) have been provided to individual taxpayers. The scope of information for pre-filing includes information such as salary income, bank interest, dividends, etc.
- (iii) Updated Return -  Section 139(8A) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (the Act) facilitates the  taxpayer  to  update  his  return  anytime  within  two  years  from  the  end  of  the  relevant

| F.Y.    | ITR FILED   |
|---------|-------------|
| 2021-22 | 11,35,746   |
| 2022-23 | 11,95,551   |

assessment so that he can file an updated return by voluntarily admitting omissions or mistakes and paying an additional tax as applicable. Further, e- verification scheme was launched to allow tax-payers to disclose their unreported or under-reported income in the updated ITR.

(iv) Reduction  in  the  Corporate  tax  rate -  Starting  from  the  Finance  Act,  2016,  the corporate tax rates have been gradually reduced while phasing out the exemptions and incentives available to the corporates so as to increase the tax base.

(v) Simplification of the Personal Income-tax - Finance Act, 2020 provided an option to individual  taxpayers  for  paying  income-tax  at  lower  slab  rates  if  they  do  not  avail  specified exemptions and incentives.

(vi) Expansion of scope of TDS/TCS -  For  bringing new tax-payers into the income-tax net,  scope of TDS/TCS was expanded by including huge cash withdrawal, foreign remittance, purchase  of  luxury  car,  e-commerce  participants,  sale  of  goods,  acquisition  of  immovable property, purchase of overseas tour program package etc.

(e) and (f): There is no linkage between the  basic exemption limit of personal income tax and the  annual  income  limit  for  the  purposes  of  determination  of  creamy  layer  among  OBCs  and EWS group of general category.  The basic exemption limit of an individual under the Incometax  Act,  1961  is  referable  to  the  net  income  chargeable  to  tax  after  admissible  deductions/ exemptions of the particular person. Whereas the income limit for the purposes of determination of creamy layer among EWS group of general category is the annual income of family from all sources and of parental income for OBCs who do not fall with the other conditions prescribed for determination of Creamy Layer.

Further, India has a progressive taxation structure under which an individual or Hindu undivided family (HUF) or an association of person or body of individuals or artificial juridical person is required to pay tax at a higher rate with an increase in income levels.

| a) No of Person who filed Income tax return during last four years; State /year wise   | a) No of Person who filed Income tax return during last four years; State /year wise   | a) No of Person who filed Income tax return during last four years; State /year wise   | a) No of Person who filed Income tax return during last four years; State /year wise   | a) No of Person who filed Income tax return during last four years; State /year wise   | a) No of Person who filed Income tax return during last four years; State /year wise   |
|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
| STATE                                                                                  | FY 2018- 19                                                                            | FY2019-20                                                                              | FY2020-21                                                                              | FY2021-22                                                                              | FY2022- 23                                                                             |
| ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS                                                            | 38767                                                                                  | 37,101                                                                                 | 41,226                                                                                 | 44,901                                                                                 | 47,101                                                                                 |
| ANDHRA PRADESH                                                                         | 2062399                                                                                | 20,80,288                                                                              | 19,79,366                                                                              | 19,84,319                                                                              | 21,65,161                                                                              |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH                                                                      | 21403                                                                                  | 19,642                                                                                 | 18,848                                                                                 | 18,091                                                                                 | 21,581                                                                                 |
| ASSAM                                                                                  | 805377                                                                                 | 7,76,618                                                                               | 7,68,231                                                                               | 7,73,711                                                                               | 8,16,137                                                                               |
| BIHAR                                                                                  | 1599472                                                                                | 17,19,439                                                                              | 18,96,122                                                                              | 20,11,074                                                                              | 21,54,266                                                                              |
| CHANDIGARH                                                                             | 255479                                                                                 | 2,65,602                                                                               | 2,66,428                                                                               | 2,67,433                                                                               | 2,77,594                                                                               |
| DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI                                                                   | 33794                                                                                  | 31,792                                                                                 | 31,832                                                                                 | 32,346                                                                                 | 33,428                                                                                 |
| DAMAN & DIU                                                                            | 20674                                                                                  | 20,532                                                                                 | 21,387                                                                                 | 21,213                                                                                 | 21,833                                                                                 |
| DELHI                                                                                  | 3411707                                                                                | 34,83,436                                                                              | 35,34,470                                                                              | 35,33,774                                                                              | 37,06,999                                                                              |
| GOA                                                                                    | 219394                                                                                 | 2,18,697                                                                               | 2,17,944                                                                               | 2,20,219                                                                               | 2,30,569                                                                               |
| GUJARAT                                                                                | 6310636                                                                                | 64,73,204                                                                              | 69,01,630                                                                              | 71,26,423                                                                              | 74,50,672                                                                              |
| HARYANA                                                                                | 2339178                                                                                | 24,74,079                                                                              | 25,83,050                                                                              | 27,24,889                                                                              | 29,45,240                                                                              |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH                                                                       | 495126                                                                                 | 5,26,311                                                                               | 5,07,118                                                                               | 5,27,596                                                                               | 5,63,171                                                                               |
| JAMMU & KASHMIR                                                                        | 426089                                                                                 | 4,49,249                                                                               | 4,25,456                                                                               | 4,38,770                                                                               | 5,22,517                                                                               |
| KARNATAKA                                                                              | 3696388                                                                                | 38,18,546                                                                              | 39,25,684                                                                              | 39,80,418                                                                              | 42,58,035                                                                              |
| KERALA                                                                                 | 1615243                                                                                | 16,56,177                                                                              | 17,08,859                                                                              | 17,95,967                                                                              | 19,73,551                                                                              |
| LAKSHADWEEP                                                                            | 4389                                                                                   | 4,760                                                                                  | 3,916                                                                                  | 4,072                                                                                  | 4,454                                                                                  |
| MADHYA PRADESH                                                                         | 2505334                                                                                | 26,06,358                                                                              | 27,45,469                                                                              | 28,38,182                                                                              | 29,93,536                                                                              |
| MAHARASHTRA                                                                            | 1004116 6                                                                              | 1,01,34,52 9                                                                           | 1,05,05,78 7                                                                           | 1,08,22,87 0                                                                           | 1,13,91,61 0                                                                           |
| MANIPUR                                                                                | 48658                                                                                  | 52,135                                                                                 | 50,372                                                                                 | 53,615                                                                                 | 64,661                                                                                 |
| MEGHALAYA                                                                              | 34500                                                                                  | 33,961                                                                                 | 32,465                                                                                 | 34,230                                                                                 | 40,248                                                                                 |
| MIZORAM                                                                                | 3653                                                                                   | 3,808                                                                                  | 4,885                                                                                  | 5,866                                                                                  | 7,371                                                                                  |
| NAGALAND                                                                               | 19832                                                                                  | 20,238                                                                                 | 20,476                                                                                 | 20,707                                                                                 | 25,168                                                                                 |
| ORISSA                                                                                 | 1042399                                                                                | 10,98,781                                                                              | 11,47,974                                                                              | 11,96,655                                                                              | 12,90,397                                                                              |

| PONDICHERRY         | 90212     | 97,026     | 95,911     | 95,429     | 1,01,440     |
|---------------------|-----------|------------|------------|------------|--------------|
| PUNJAB              | 2895599   | 30,73,506  | 31,05,578  | 32,84,421  | 36,09,942    |
| RAJASTHAN           | 3923195   | 41,35,462  | 43,80,416  | 45,55,909  | 48,48,031    |
| SIKKIM              | 15257     | 14,962     | 13,325     | 11,917     | 13,229       |
| TAMILNADU           | 4154203   | 41,82,347  | 42,07,105  | 43,01,299  | 45,90,531    |
| TRIPURA             | 80781     | 82,049     | 78,510     | 79,879     | 87,434       |
| UTTAR PRADESH       | 5723087   | 60,08,980  | 64,17,665  | 66,53,883  | 71,65,746    |
| WEST BENGAL         | 3990446   | 40,88,477  | 42,45,242  | 43,64,849  | 45,56,394    |
| CHHATTISGARH        | 1009237   | 10,41,310  | 10,75,894  | 11,01,801  | 11,60,389    |
| UTTARANCHAL         | 735918    | 7,69,055   | 7,69,961   | 7,93,801   | 8,53,992     |
| JHARKHAND           | 1050842   | 10,76,078  | 11,12,676  | 11,35,746  | 11,95,551    |
| TELANGANA           | 2064582   | 21,58,703  | 22,81,927  | 24,54,797  | 26,92,185    |
| STATE OUTSIDE INDIA | 45664     | 55,234     | 83,180     | 1,06,065   | 1,10,691     |
| Others*             | 25        | 22         | 3          | 20,246     | 18,191       |
| Total               | 6283010 5 | 6,47,88,49 | 6,72,06,38 | 6,94,37,38 | 7,40,09,04 6 |
|                     |           | 4          | 8          | 3          |              |

## Note: -

1. Unique PAN count were considered for specific FY from IT returns.
2. E-filed ITRs were considered for the above summary. In case multiple e-Returns were submitted by an assessee, then the latest one in the corresponding FY has been taken into consideration.
3. State Outside India - Filers who have mentioned state code as 99 (i.e., State outside India) in communication address within Part A-General Information of ITR.
4. *Others - Filers who have mentioned State Code which is inconsistent with State Codes available in Part A-General Information of ITR /PAN data.

Annexure B b) No of Person whos IT returns amount to zero tax liability during last four years; State /year wise

| STATE_DESCRIPTION           | FY2019-20   | FY2020-21   | FY2021-22   | FY2022-23   |
|-----------------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| ANDAMAN AND NICOBAR ISLANDS | 7,061       | 24,685      | 26,947      | 25,804      |
| ANDHRA PRADESH              | 6,64,299    | 12,55,518   | 12,44,380   | 13,04,819   |
| ARUNACHAL PRADESH           | 8,249       | 13,371      | 13,339      | 16,014      |
| ASSAM                       | 3,25,831    | 5,59,270    | 5,71,707    | 5,80,148    |
| BIHAR                       | 8,95,962    | 15,06,533   | 16,12,555   | 16,75,663   |
| CHANDIGARH                  | 1,14,971    | 1,79,763    | 1,81,359    | 1,78,473    |
| DADRA & NAGAR HAVELI        | 15,283      | 24,851      | 25,615      | 25,221      |
| DAMAN & DIU                 | 9,096       | 16,291      | 16,702      | 16,571      |
| DELHI                       | 12,32,053   | 22,58,833   | 23,06,607   | 23,18,927   |
| GOA                         | 85,778      | 1,45,764    | 1,48,472    | 1,46,194    |
| GUJARAT                     | 39,27,497   | 57,67,988   | 59,30,233   | 59,91,699   |
| HARYANA                     | 12,17,358   | 18,95,827   | 20,17,832   | 21,16,161   |
| HIMACHAL PRADESH            | 2,50,497    | 3,72,753    | 3,90,002    | 4,09,425    |
| JAMMU & KASHMIR             | 1,53,009    | 2,84,398    | 3,00,634    | 3,57,719    |
| KARNATAKA                   | 12,46,799   | 23,61,785   | 24,22,438   | 24,63,232   |
| KERALA                      | 5,93,003    | 11,19,225   | 12,25,653   | 10,81,971   |
| LAKSHADWEEP                 | 797         | 2,017       | 1,834       | 1,761       |
| MADHYA PRADESH              | 13,44,459   | 21,47,264   | 22,34,217   | 22,94,440   |
| MAHARASHTRA                 | 43,15,546   | 71,49,773   | 74,73,623   | 74,45,222   |
| MANIPUR                     | 18,160      | 35,045      | 37,449      | 46,801      |
| MEGHALAYA                   | 14,091      | 22,934      | 25,335      | 29,710      |
| MIZORAM                     | 1,736       | 3,690       | 4,518       | 5,823       |
| NAGALAND                    | 8,955       | 15,893      | 16,735      | 20,505      |
| ORISSA                      | 4,33,449    | 8,21,120    | 8,58,702    | 8,94,889    |
| PONDICHERRY                 | 34,706      | 61,092      | 61,415      | 60,541      |

| PUNJAB              | 16,97,781   | 25,44,811   | 27,04,610   | 28,90,845   |
|---------------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|-------------|
| RAJASTHAN           | 22,78,147   | 35,48,235   | 37,02,678   | 38,11,272   |
| SIKKIM              | 6,450       | 9,810       | 8,905       | 9,905       |
| TAMILNADU           | 13,70,012   | 26,02,003   | 27,19,436   | 27,88,014   |
| TRIPURA             | 26,837      | 52,719      | 54,510      | 59,160      |
| UTTAR PRADESH       | 28,21,363   | 47,99,837   | 50,72,954   | 52,73,478   |
| WEST BENGAL         | 20,34,435   | 32,26,294   | 32,50,697   | 32,83,160   |
| CHHATTISGARH        | 4,93,213    | 8,08,943    | 8,37,241    | 8,62,170    |
| UTTARANCHAL         | 3,19,379    | 5,49,791    | 5,69,405    | 5,95,630    |
| JHARKHAND           | 4,39,992    | 7,70,973    | 7,93,359    | 8,05,104    |
| TELANGANA           | 5,97,781    | 14,54,606   | 16,03,673   | 16,64,019   |
| STATE OUTSIDE INDIA | 32,177      | 56,208      | 65,302      | 64,665      |
| Others*             | 22          | 3           | 15,868      | -           |
| TOTAL               | 2,90,36,234 | 4,84,69,916 | 5,05,46,941 | 5,16,15,155 |

## Note:-

1. Gross Tax payable as reported by assessee in e-Return has been considered for determining tax liability.
2. Unique PAN count were considered for specific FY from IT returns.
3. E-filed ITRs were considered for the above summary. In case multiple e-Returns were submitted by an assessee, then the latest one in the corresponding FY has been taken into consideration.
4. State Outside India - Filers who have mentioned state code as 99 (i.e., State outside India) in communication address within Part A-General Information of ITR.
5. Others* - Filers who have mentioned State Code which is inconsistent with State Codes available in Part A-General Information of ITR /PAN data.