The Income Tax Department in the previous financial year has not focused merely on “disposal of appeals, but on reducing pendency and avoiding unnecessary litigation”, Ravi Agarwal, Chairman of Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said on July 24.
During FY26, the CBDT disposed of over 2.24 lakh appeals, which far exceeds the 1.7 lakh new appeals that were filed during the year, Agarwal highlighted during his speech at 167th Income Tax Day. “As a result, we have achieved substantial reduction in pending appeals by the end of the year.”
While noting the Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s emphasis on timely service delivery and respect for taxpayers’ time, Agarwal said that “today almost all verified returns for assessment year 2025-26 have been processed.”
“Out of nearly 8.6 crore verified returns, only about 1.5 lakh returns are pending. And out of these 3.82 crore verified refund returns, only 1.47 lakh refund returns are pending, and that is also due to the due to the ongoing risk assessment in the area of appeal effect orders,” said the CBDT Chairman.
Agarwal recalled the six priority areas that the Finance Minister had highlighted in March 2026. “These priorities broadly focused on key areas such as reducing litigation by faster disposal of appeals; expeditious passing of appeal effect orders and quick issuance of refunds; better taxpayer services and grievance redressal; along with greater use of technology; wider taxpayer outreach; and ensuring that the new Income Tax Act 2025 remains simple, clear, and easy to comply with.”
The CBDT Chairman further said that the I-T Department’s technological capabilities are also being strengthened through a number of important initiatives. “The development of Pan 2.0, Income Tax Business Application (ITBA) 2.0, TDS 2.0…and the continued modernisation of our digital systems will make our processes more efficient, more integrated, and better aligned with the needs of the taxpayers.”
On the new I-T Act, Agarwal said that the rules have already been notified. “Considerable progress has been made in finalizing and notifying the prescribed forms well before they are required,” he added.
