ITR refund or TDS credit claimed through common email or mobile comes under scrutiny; High risk tax refund cases to be investigated
tax authorities have chosen to examine high-risk refund cases for the financial year 2023-24 (Assessment Year 2024-25) using statistical analysis of specific cases. Tax officers were notified of this decision through an internal directive dated October 3, 2024, which is not publicly available. This means that even if you have already received a tax refund for the financial year 2023-24, your case could still be selected for investigation if the tax department suspects any irregularities.
“Suspicious clusters, comprising of ITRs in which common email ID has been reported, has been identified based on certain rules. Details of such high-risk clusters are being disseminated to the respective CRU (Central Registry Unit) Nodal officer 1 for the purpose of verification of suspicion that false claims of refunds have been made in an organised manner or through a single key person,” said the Income Tax Department on the said internal order.
How does this impact you?
According to experts, this internal circular mainly affects taxpayers who have filed their income tax return (ITR) and have claimed a tax refund that seems suspicious to the tax department. However, not all tax refund claims are closely scrutinized by the tax department. The internal circular clearly states that only 'High Risk Refund (HRR) cases' will be investigated by the tax officers.
“The Income Tax Department is identifying cases where people have wrongly claimed refunds for AY 2024-25 (FY 2023-24). Notices will be sent to these taxpayers via email and
