July is the last month when people rush to fill their tax returns, either by themselves or through chartered accountants. Thanks to the excellent and integrated software, filling the online form is nearly a ‘no-brainer,’ since much of the information and data get collated from various sources and seeded in the form. After all the details are filled, we get notified if there is a refund from the income tax department or payment to it.
If we need to pay, then there is a message that we could either pay now or later. If we choose ‘later’ then a stern message pops up that there could be a penalty and better to pay now. If we click ‘OK’ then a link pops-up and we can pay the liable tax through internet banking. But if there is refund due to the assessee then one must wait for a month or two, even if the amount is a few hundreds or thousands of rupees!The IT department could tweak the software so that refunds less than say, Rs. 50,000 would be promptly credited to the assessee’s account. The IT department should reciprocate the trust placed on it by honest tax payers.
