« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Mock Test Papers Series - I & II for Students appearing in CA Foundation January 2027 Examination.  Income Tax Rules 2026: CBDT Introduces Revised Form 161 for Penalty Waiver, Clarifies Misreporting Categories and Taxpayer Relief  ITR Filing and Income Tax Audit Deadline Extended: 5 Critical Things Taxpayers Must Know  Filing Belated ITR for AY 2026-27? Know Which Losses You Can Carry Forward and Which You May Lose  CBDT Extends Tax Audit Report Deadline to October 21, ITR Filing Last Date to November 21 for AY 2026-27  CBDT Extends AY 2026-27 ITR Filing Deadline for Tax-Audit Cases: New Dates and Key Compliance Details  Foreign Assets Missing From Your ITR? Income Tax Department Opens One-Time Disclosure Window  Tax Audit Deadline September 30: Why AIS, TDS and GST Figures May Not Match Your ITR and What Taxpayers Should Do  Tax audit deadline September 30: Common mistakes taxpayers should avoid  Your ITR says ‘verified’, but the refund hasn’t arrived? 5 reasons why your money could be stuck  Missed the ITR Deadline but TDS Refund Is Due? Here’s How You Can Still Claim Your Money «  Impact of Budget on foreign firms... Women to gain more if investment planning is sound... » I-T's going to abolish boundaries, get faster March, 04th 2008 After ushering in e-filing, the government is now set to revolutionise processing of returns. Jurisdiction-free processing of income-tax returns could be a reality soon, with the Finance Bill authorising the government to introduce such a scheme. This would speed up the refunds process. Once the jurisdiction-free system is in place, processing of returns could be carried out at centralised designated centres instead of the respective ward where the assessee files his return. The move is aimed at expediting the processing of returns and thereby quickening the issue of refunds. The processing of returns currently takes four months to a year. This is primarily because there is no equitable distribution of the processing work. In some jurisdictions, assessing officers are saddled with 60,000-70,000 returns while in smaller jurisdictions officials have just 5,000 returns. For the purposes of processing of returns under Sub-section (1), the board may make a scheme for centralised processing of returns with a view to expeditiously determining the tax payable by, or the refund due to, the assessee as required under the said sub-section, says the new provision which is proposed to be inserted in the Finance Bill. In fact, the department is carrying out a pilot project for centralised processing in Mumbai. Information about an assessee is sent to the concerned assessing officer in his jurisdiction who then sends an advise of issue of refund to the refund banker. The refund banker issues a refund cheque based on the advise. To facilitate the launch of jurisdiction-free processing, the income-tax department is setting up a National Data Centre that is expected to start functioning soon. All records of assessees would be uploaded on the National Data Centre to facilitate zone-free processing.