Income Tax: Big order from Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, strict action against income tax evaders

Income Tax FM Nirmala Sitharaman Orders Strict Action Against Tax Evaders: The important deadline for filing income tax returns in the country is now fast approaching. There is a huge race among people across the country to file their ITR before the deadline ends. Meanwhile, the country’s Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has given a very important and big statement regarding taxpayers. The Finance Minister has given many big and very strict instructions to the Income Tax Department to increase the facilities of taxpayers and to prevent tax evasion.

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has asked all the officials of the Income Tax Department to make the entire process easy for honest taxpayers. Along with this, he has also given strict instructions to take very strict action against all the corrupt people who knowingly evade taxes. The Finance Minister clearly said that our main approach should be such that the honest taxpayers of the country get complete facilities easily. Apart from this, full opportunity should also be given to correct the actual mistakes made while filing the return.

Special instructions given to officials

The Union Finance Minister has given clear instructions to the Income Tax officials that the powers under the tax law should always be exercised very politely. He said that any taxpayer is not just a subject of tax assessment but is also a very important partner in the development of the country. The main emphasis of the government is on reducing all tax related disputes and significantly increasing tax certainty. With this, a much better and stronger relationship can be established forever between the common citizens of the country and the government.

More than 3.2 crore returns filed

According to the data released by the Income Tax Department, in the current season of ITR filing, more than 3.2 crore returns have been filed till July 21. Of these, about 94 percent have been successfully verified and 60 percent have been completely settled easily. Apart from this, more than 1.3 crore tax refunds have also been claimed, out of which 96 percent have been verified expeditiously. Out of these, 40 percent tax refund has been settled, which has provided huge financial relief to lakhs of people of the country.

Full emphasis on refunds and complaints

The Finance Minister clearly believes that expediting the refund process greatly increases the trust of taxpayers in the government. Along with this, getting refund on time makes their cash position very strong and money also comes back in the market. Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Ravi Aggarwal has also said that there has been a huge improvement in the prompt resolution of complaints. The department is now focusing its full attention on eliminating the root causes of all recurring complaints once and for all.

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What is the deadline of ITR?

The last date for filing income tax returns for most individual taxpayers is generally fixed as July 31, 2026. This includes all regular salaried employees and general pensioners, who do not require any kind of tax audit.

However, on the help page of the Income Tax Department, the due date for ITR-4 taxpayers for assessment year 2026-27 has been stated as 31 August 2026. At present, no official notification or government circular has been issued yet regarding extension of the deadline.