The Income Tax department on Wednesday said it will immediately issue pending refunds up to Rs 5 lakh, benefitting around 14 lakh taxpayers. The government will also issue pending GST and customs refunds of Rs 18,000 crore to provide relief to business entities. In the context of the COVID-19 situation and with a view to provide immediate relief to the business entities and individuals, it has been decided to issue all the pending income-tax refunds up to Rs 5 lakh, immediately. This would benefit around 14 lakh taxpayers, an official statement said.
It has been decided to issue all pending GST and Custom refunds which would provide benefit to around 1 lakh business entities, including MSME. Thus, the total refund granted will be approximately Rs 18,000 crore, it added. There have been about 150 deaths in India due to COVID-19 pandemic and over 5,000 positive cases.