New Delhi, Sep 1: The Ministry of Finance on Saturday said there was an increase of 71 per cent in the number of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) filed during the financial year 2018. The significant rise in ITR filing was reported in two categories - ITRs filed by salaried Individuals (ITR-1 & 2) and also those availing the benefit of the Presumptive Taxation Scheme (ITR-4).

"The total number of ITRs e-filed upto August 31, 2018, was 5.42 crore as against 3.17 crore upto August 31, 2017, marking an increase of 70.86 per cent. Almost 34.95 lakh returns were uploaded on August 31, 2018, itself, being the last date of the extended due date of filing of ITRs," the ministry said in a press release. Income Tax Return (ITR) 2017-18 Filing: Know How to File.

"The total number of e-returns of salaried Individual taxpayers filed till August 31, 2018, increased to 3.37 crore from 2.19 crore returns filed during the corresponding period of 2017, registering an increase of 1.18 crore returns translating into a growth of almost 54 per cent," it stated. Spam SMS Alert: Fake Income Tax Refund (ITR) Message Leads to Malicious Link Seeking Bank Account Details.

"A stupendous growth has been witnessed in the number of returns e-filed by persons availing the benefit of Presumptive Tax, with 1.17 crore returns having been filed upto August 31, 2018, compared to 14.93 lakh returns upto August 31, 2017, registering a massive increase of 681.69 per cent." it added.

The government said the increase in the number of returns reveals a marked improvement in the level of voluntary compliance of taxpayers which can be attributed to several factors, including the impact of demonetisation, enhanced persuasion and education of taxpayers as also the impending provision of the late fee which would be effective on late filing of returns.

This is indicative of an India moving steadily towards a more tax compliant society and reflects the impact of continuous leveraging of technology to improve taxpayer service delivery, it analysed.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Sep 01, 2018 06:43 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).