Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary told Parliament on Tuesday that 6.68% of India’s population filed income tax returns in the financial year 2023-24. Although this percentage is relatively low, the number of income tax returns (ITR) filed has been continuously increasing in recent years. Over 8.09 crore ITRs were filed in FY 2023-24, a significant increase from 7.40 crore in FY 2022-23. This upward trend continued in the previous financial years, with 6.96 crore returns filed in FY2022, while 6.72 crore returns were filed in FY2021 and 6.48 crore returns in FY2020.
Increase in ITR filing despite low participation of taxpayers
The total number of individuals filing income tax returns (ITR) in the financial year 2023-24 reached 8,09,03,315As Choudhary has said. In a written reply in the Rajya Sabha, he also said the number of individuals reporting zero taxable income in their ITR has increased to 4.90 crore for assessment year 2023-24, from 4.64 crore in the previous financial year. This reflects the increasing trend of individuals filing returns even when they have no taxable income. However, despite this growth, the percentage of India’s population participating in the tax filing process remains relatively low.
