“About one lakh notices were sent,” Sitharaman said, adding that the notices are expected to be cleared by the end of this fiscal 2023-24. Under income tax law, officers can reopen past assessments of up to six years.
The Minister said the notices were not just thoughtlessly sent and noted she was assured by the Chairman CBDT, Nitin Gupta, that by March 2024, the entire one lakh notices will be cleared.
The Minister said that no tax assessee is going to face reopening of cases after 6 years, which was earlier 10 years, thanks to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. “This change was brought to benefit tax assessee,” she said. During her address, Sitharaman also lauded the Income Tax department for having increased the revenue without imposing additional taxes upon citizens.
“In the last 3-4 years tax rate did not grow up but revenue is growing up and revenue expectations are met. The government has not increased tax rates, but revenue is increasing, efficiency has been improved and the economy is becoming more and more formalized,” she added.