Fake income tax refund claim: The Income Tax Department has found refund claims of ₹1,070 crore of 90,000 salaried persons to be fake. Wrong deduction claims were made under sections 80C, 80D, 80G, 80GGB and 80GGC. The department has given time till December 31, 2024 to withdraw the wrong claims and pay the additional tax.
Fake income tax refund claim: The Income Tax Department has detected a large number of wrong refund claims. 90,000 salaried persons from both public sector undertakings and private sector have withdrawn wrong claims of exemptions worth Rs 1,070 crore till December 31, 2024 to avoid tax. Government sources gave this information. During various search and seizure and survey operations carried out by the Income Tax Department, it has come to light that various individuals are wrongly claiming deductions under Sections 80C, 80D, 80E, 80G, 80GGB, 80GGC of the Income Tax Act in their ITRs, thereby reducing the tax payable to the government.
Sources said that during the investigation, it was found that such individuals are employees of organizations working in various sectors including public sector undertakings, large companies, multinational companies, private companies. Also, most of those wrongly claiming deductions were working in the same company. Analysis of the information available with the department revealed that there is a huge difference between the total deductions claimed under Section 80GGB/80GGC and the total receipts shown in the Income Tax Returns of the taxpayers.
Sources said that similarly, the deductions claimed under Section 80C, 80E, 80G also appear to be suspicious. He said a list of employers (TDS deductors) has been identified and the tax department will reach out to as many persons as possible who are suspected of making fraudulent claims of deductions under Section 80E, 80G, 80GGA, 80GGC and other deductions. “Further, verification has revealed that some erroneous elements have misled taxpayers for wrongly claiming deductions/refunds,” the source said.
He said the department is holding meetings with employers to create awareness about the consequences of wrongly claiming deductions in income tax returns and the corrective measures that can be taken by taxpayers to rectify the lapses. A source said, “As of December 31, 2024, about 90,000 taxpayers have withdrawn the wrong claim of deductions of about Rs 1,070 crore in their ITR and paid additional tax.” As per the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, taxpayers can file updated returns on payment of some additional tax by rectifying the errors within two years for 2022-23 to 2024-25, after the end of the respective assessment year. Sources said meetings are being held with employers to intensify the department’s efforts to promote voluntary tax compliance and reduce litigation.
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