According to CBDT Chairman Ravi Aggarwal, in the financial year 2025-26, the Income Tax Department disposed of more than 2.24 lakh old appeals as against 1.7 lakh new appeals. This has led to a significant reduction in pending cases. Almost all verified returns have also been processed.
New Delhi [भारत]July 24 (ANI): Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Ravi Agarwal on Friday said that during FY26, the CBDT disposed of over 2.24 lakh appeals, which is more than the 1.7 lakh new appeals filed this year.
Addressing the 167th Income Tax Day celebrations, Agarwal presented a report card on the performance of the Income Tax Department in the last one year. He said the priorities set by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman at last year’s Income Tax Day and ‘Prarambh’ event in March have guided the work of the department during the financial year 2025-26.
Big reduction in pending cases
On the issue of reducing litigation, which has long been said to be a top priority, Aggarwal said the department disposed of over 2.24 lakh appeals during the financial year 2025-26. This is much higher than the 1.79 lakh new appeals filed in the same period, leading to a huge reduction in the pendency of cases. Nearly 6,000 departmental appeals were also withdrawn in line with the revised monetary limits. Appeal-impact orders saw a disposal rate of 90.3 per cent, with 5.68 lakh cases out of 6.29 lakh cases disposed of during the year.
Grievance redressal and return processing also expedited
Aggarwal said that almost all the verified returns for assessment year 2025-26 have now been processed. Out of approximately 8.6 crore verified returns, only 1.5 lakh are pending. Of the 3.82 crore verified refund returns, only 1.47 lakh are still pending, pending risk assessment. The department disposed of 72,933 out of 77,765 CPGRAMS complaints filed in FY 2025-26, which is a disposal rate of 94 per cent, while the e-redressal system resolved 3,26,217 complaints out of 3,43,269, which is a disposal rate of 95 per cent. Aggarwal said the department has also started tackling the root causes of recurring complaints to reduce the complaints from their roots.
Emphasis on increasing tax certainty
On tax certainty, CBDT signed 220 Advance Pricing Agreements (APAs) during the year, one of the highest annual figures since the inception of the programme. This brings the total number to 1,035 by March 2026, a figure which Aggarwal said has been recognized by peer jurisdictions internationally.
Promotion of new technology in the department
Aggarwal highlighted several technology initiatives, including PAN 2.0, ITBA 2.0, CPC 2.0, INSIGHT 2.0 and IEC 3.0. There is also a ‘SAKSHAM NUDGE’ framework for data-driven, non-intrusive compliance. The department’s virtual assistant ‘Kar Saathi’ has recorded 38 lakh hits so far.
Campaigns run for awareness
To increase reach, the department organized 304 physical events mostly in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities. Also, 11 ‘Samvad’ sessions on the new Income Tax Act and 12 sessions on the new I-T Forms were conducted, complemented with short videos, podcasts and digital content.
Aggarwal said last year’s priorities were not isolated achievements, but part of a single goal: strengthening trust and confidence in the tax administration. He described it as a shared responsibility that depends on voluntary taxpayer compliance, tax professionals, reporting institutions like banks, government institutions and the department’s own officials.
He thanked various verticals of the Board, including the exemption vertical and the officers working on rules and forms under the new Income Tax Act, 2025. He also paid tribute to retired officers whose work, he said, laid the foundation on which the department is building today. (ANI)
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