Conducted in October, the survey, which included over 3,500 respondents and was presented to finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday, revealed that 87% of individuals and 89% of firms found the refund process convenient, and a notable number reported a greater reduction in waiting time over the past five years.

The survey, with more than half of the respondents being individuals and the remainder firms and organizations, demonstrated that the government’s efforts to automate and simplify the tax regime are paying off. According to CII president R Dinesh, the majority of respondents also noted an “increased trust factor” with the Income Tax Department.

About 84% of individuals said that the process of checking refund status was “smooth”, a feeling shared by 77% of the firms.

The survey found that a majority of entities did not pay excess tax deducted at source (TDS) beyond their estimated tax liability. However, there were instances of excess TDS payments, with 19.6% of firms paying up to 10% more, 25.7% paying 10-20% more, and 19% paying 20-30% more than their liability.

The findings also showed that a swift refund process is now in place, with 53.2% of individual respondents receiving refunds in less than a month, and 48.9% of firms receiving them within one to three months. Additionally, over 90% of respondents affirmed that tax refunds are automatically generated after filing tax returns.

These tax department has been working to expand the tax base, rationalize tax rates, and enhance data collection and analytics, aiming to streamline tax administration and expedite the refund process.

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Updated: 22 Nov 2023, 08:37 PM IST