Record 72.42 lakh ITRs filed on July 31 deadline; cumulative count at 5.83 crore

"The surge of filing ITRs peaked on July 31, 2022 (due date for salaried taxpayers and other non-tax audit cases) with over 72.42 lakh ITRs being filed on a single day," according to an official statement issued on Monday.

The cumulative income tax returns (ITRs) filed for the financial year 2021-22 stand at 5.83 crore with a record 72.42 lakh ITRs filed on the last day which was July 31.

This time, the Union government refused to extend the July 31 deadline for ITR filing.(Representational image)

"The surge of filing ITRs peaked on July 31, 2022 (due date for salaried taxpayers and other non-tax audit cases) with over 72.42 lakh ITRs being filed on a single day," according to an official statement issued on Monday.

"The e-filing portal also set other benchmarks on July 31, 2022, including - highest per second rate of ITR filing: 570 (at 4:29:30 pm), highest per minute rate of ITR filing: 9573 (at 7:44 pm), and the highest per hour rate of ITR filing: 5,17,030, between 5 PM to 6 PM," the statement added.

In the last fiscal of 2020-21, about 5.89 crore ITRs were filed by the extended due date of December 31, 2021.

This time, the Union government refused to extend the July 31 deadline for ITR filing despite several people taking to social media to point out the glitches on the income tax portal which was not allowing them to file their returns.

Over the last two financial years, the deadline had been extended.

"With the Government announcing that there would be no extension of the due date, there was a surge in filing of ITRs and by July 25, 2022, 3 crore ITRs had been filed. By the end of the day on 31st July 2022, 72.42 lakh ITRs had been filed, shattering all previous records (maximum being 49 lakh ITRs in 2019). In the month of July 2022 alone, over 5.13 crore ITRs have been filed," Monday's statement further said.