The income tax department on Saturday asked taxpayers to respond to intimation from the I-T department regarding outstanding demands of previous years to facilitate faster clearance of refunds for 2022-23 fiscal.

With some taxpayers taking to social media about receiving intimation from the I-T department regarding past unsettled tax demands, the department in a post on 'X' said, this is a taxpayer-friendly measure where an opportunity is being provided to assessees in line with "principles of natural justice".

As many as 7.09 crore returns have been filed for income earned in 2022-23 fiscal. Of these, 6.96 crore ITRs have been verified, of which 6.46 crore returns have been processed as on date, including 2.75 crore refund returns.

"However, there are a few cases in which refunds are due to the taxpayer, but previous demands are outstanding, the department said," the I-T department said.

The Section 245(1) of Income-tax Act, 1961, mandates providing an opportunity to taxpayers to make a representation before adjusting the refund against an existing demand. The taxpayer is required to agree, disagree or clarify the status of the demand.

"Accordingly, taxpayers with existing demand(s) in the previous years are being intimated of the same … Taxpayers are requested to avail this opportunity and respond to such intimations to enable cleaning up/reconciliation of pending demands and facilitate timely issue of refunds," it said.

The Income Tax Department further said it is making every effort to complete the processing of Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and issuance of refunds expeditiously.

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