Now Reading: Income-tax filers rise to 8.67 crore as compliance checks expand
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Income-tax filers rise to 8.67 crore as compliance checks expand
The number of income-tax return filers rose from 6.96 crore in 2021-22 to 8.67 crore in 2025-26, according to data cited by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok…
The Story in Brief
The number of income-tax return filers rose from 6.96 crore in 2021-22 to 8.67 crore in 2025-26, according to data cited by Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary in the Lok Sabha. Net direct-tax collections climbed from Rs 14.12 lakh crore to Rs 23.40 lakh crore over the same period. The government linked the push to PAN-Aadhaar linking, the Annual Information Statement, NUDGE messages, GST invoice checks and anti-fraud drives.
LiveMint reports that GST checks included invoice matching, biometric authentication and physical verification during nationwide drives against fake registrations. Separately, The Hindu reports net direct-tax collections rose 23% to Rs 8.11 lakh crore by August 10 in the current fiscal, helped by higher non-corporate taxes and slower refunds.
The Indian Opinion
Claims that higher collections alone prove widespread tax compliance are too sweeping. Collections can rise with income, inflation, enforcement and slower refunds, while more return filers do not necessarily mean more taxpayers paying substantial tax. The opposite claim, that technology checks automatically amount to harassment, is also lazy without evidence on errors and appeals. The useful test is whether voluntary compliance rises alongside timely refunds and fewer fraudulent GST claims. The next annual filing and refund data will show that better than headlines.
Sources (2): livemint.com, thehindu.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
