On Monday, Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that about one lakh notices were sent for non-filing of returns and misrepresentation of income. Sitharaman added that the notices were sent where the income was found to be close to Rs 50 lakh, and they are expected to be cleared by the end of this fiscal.

The Finance Minister further said that tax rates have not gone up over the years, yet revenue has been constantly rising over the past three-four years.

“We are talking about widening the tax base via awareness and nudging. The Income Tax Department is working towards a taxpayer-friendly regime,” she said while speaking at the 164th Income Tax Day event.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Nitin Gupta said that more than four crore income tax returns (ITRs) have been filed so far for 2022–23, and more than half of them have been processed, leading to the issuance of Rs 80 lakh refunds.