Exaggerated, bogus claims to get refunds punishable offence, warns I-T dept

The I-T Department has asked income tax return filers to not make bogus claims for expenses, under-report their earnings or exaggerate deductions as this is a punishable offence and causes a delay in issuance of refunds.

The ITR filing season for assessment year 2024-25 will end on July 31 for all categories of taxpayers whose accounts are not supposed to be audited.

According to the Income Tax Department and its administrative body Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), over five crore ITRs have been filed, as of July 26.

In a recent public communication, the Income Tax Department asked taxpayers to file their returns correctly to get timely refunds.

"Refund claims are subject to verification checks, which may cause delays. Accurate filing of ITR leads to quicker processing of refunds. Any discrepancies in the claims made will prompt a request for a revised return (to be filed by the taxpayer)," it said.

It cautioned ITR filing taxpayers to not claim "incorrect" Tax Deducted at So