« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  BackBack Income Tax Act amendment on cards on tax treatment of MSME dues  ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 forms for FY 2023-24 available for e-filing. Check details here  Income tax slabs FY 2024-25: Experts share these 8 benefits for taxpayers in new income tax regime  How To File ITR Online - Step by Step Guide to Efile Income Tax Return, FY 2023-24 (AY 2024-25)  Old or new tax regime for TDS on salary? This post-election 2024 event will impact your tax planning  What Are 5 Heads Of Income Tax?  Income Tax Dept releases interim action plan for FY25 on tax collection, refund approvals   Income Tax Return: 5 lesser-known tax-saving tips from Section 80  Income Tax Return: 5 lesser-known tax-saving tips from Section 80  Why you need not rush to file your ITR immediately  Income tax returns: ITR-1, ITR-2, ITR-4 forms for FY 2023-24 available for e-filing «  RTI: Right to Invade (tax) privacy?... I-T may soon get 10,000 more posts... » I-T dept working on centralised returns processing October, 03rd 2006 The income tax department is working on an action plan for centralisation of processing of tax returns for salaried taxpayers. According to a proposal, the processing of tax returns could be reduced from around four months at present to 60 days. The aim is to cut short the wait for income tax refunds. "The idea is to set up five or six centres in the country which will receive and process tax returns. Having centralised offices to process returns will help the income tax department to dedicate only a portion of its total staff for the purpose and utilise its remaining staff for other activities like investigation and assessment," a finance ministry official said. If the proposal is approved, around 20 per cent of the department's existing staff of around 55,000 will be dedicated to undertaking tax returns processing. Of the total returns received by the department, nearly 40-50 per cent are salaried returns. The processing of returns will be aided by outsourced data entry operators. Officials said a pilot project for undertaking centralised processing had been in operation at Mumbai for the last two years and the results had been very encouraging. There is, however, also a view within the ministry that the centralised processing system may not work in India unless all the returns are filed electronically. "Since there will only be centralised centres for processing the returns, the returns will have to be physically transported to these centres," an official said. But supporters of the proposal point out that the problem can be resolved if the income tax department extends the network of post offices in the country which will accept the tax returns.