Senior citizens may not have to wait for months to get their refunds from the Income-Tax department. The department in Delhi plans to clear all refunds of senior citizens within a month of their filing the returns for the assessment year 2006-07, according to the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Delhi, Mr B.M. Singh.

"Our effort would be to clear all refund cases of senior citizens within a month. For the others, we will try to do it in four months. This year we will not be processing returns manually. We will segregate the returns filed by senior citizens and enter particulars in a new computerised system," Mr Singh told newspersons here.

On the arrangements made by Income-Tax department for receipt of tax returns in Delhi, Mr Singh said the department was fully geared to meet the annual rush of people wanting to file their returns of income in the last week of July.

"As done in the past years, special counters are being set up at Pragati Maidan from July 28-31. There will be 115 such counters and will be open from 10 a.m to 4 p.m in Hall No. 11A on all these four days," he said.

Mr Singh also said the returns of income could also be filed in any of the 89 post offices authorised in Delhi. "We will deploy special personnel from the tax department in these post offices for receipt of returns," he added. All over the country, about 2,000 post offices have been authorised to take the returns.

The senior income-tax department official urged taxpayers not to wait till the last day to file their returns of income.