Going by the total number of salaried individuals who have filed income tax returns for FY 2019-20 i.e. the assessment year 2020-21, there is a decline of 7% in the number of individuals earning up to Rs.50 lakh in India.
The income tax return filing data shows that 3.02 crore individuals have filed ITR for FY20 in form ITR-1 compared to 3.24 crore for FY19, a decline of 6.58%. Individuals who earn up to Rs.50 lakh file ITR-1 form. The last date for filing returns through ITR-1 was January 10, 2021.
Overall, there is a 6.50% fall in the number of citizens and companies filing returns until January end.
The data is a worrying sign for the economy as the decline happened even before the Covid-induced economic slowdown.
Different ITR forms are used by different class of tax payers to file their returns. For example, ITR-1 is used mostly by the salaried class while ITR-3 is applicable for individuals and HUFs who have income from profits and gains from business or profession.
The decline was even higher in ITR-3, ITR-5, ITR-6 and ITR-7 categories. While ITR-3 filings declined by 18%, ITR-5, ITR-6 and ITR-7 recorded a fall of 15%, 31% and 21%, respectively. ITR-4 was the only category that witnessed growth.
However, the data is not final for some categories as those requiring tax audits had time till February 15 to file their returns.
