NEW DELHI: Over 6.85 crore income tax returns have been filed so far for fiscal 2021-22 and the number is expected to go up further by December 31, a senior official said.

The last date for filing income tax returns (ITRs) for 2021-22 fiscal for individuals was July 31, while for corporates and others who need to get their accounts audited was November 7, 2022.

If the deadline is missed, taxpayers can also file a belated return by paying penalty, the last date for which is December 31.

''So far, 6.85 crore tax returns for Assessment Year 2022-23 have been filed and we are hopeful that the number will increase till December 31,'' Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Nitin Gupta has said.

In the last fiscal (2021-22), which ended on March 31, 2022, 7.14 crore tax returns were filed. This was higher compared to 6.97 crore filed in 2020-21.

So far this fiscal, refund worth around Rs 2 lakh crore has been disbursed.

Till November 10, the government's gross direct tax kitty grew 31 per cent to Rs 10.54 lakh crore.

Net collections, after adjusting refunds, stood at Rs 8.71 lakh crore, which is 61.31 per cent of the Budget estimates (BE) for the full year tax collection target.

The net direct tax collection this fiscal ending March 31, 2023 is likely to exceed budget estimates of Rs 14.20 lakh crore by 25-30 per cent.

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