The Ministry of Finance said this is intended to ensure better taxpayer services

The Finance Ministry has reduced the level of scrutiny of income tax returns to 0.25 per cent for those filed in 2018-19. The scrutiny rate is the lowest in the past four assessment years.

According to The Economic Times, in 2016-17, 0.40 per cent of returns filed were scrutinized and in 2017-18, it was 0.55 per cent. It shows that over the years, the number of cases selected for scrutiny has reduced significantly. In a Twitter post, the finance ministry said the IT Department is changing from just enforcement to facilitating better taxpayer services.

The rate of scrutiny for Delhi, which has over 16 million Permanent Account Number (PAN) card holders, has reduced from 1.12 per cent in 2015-16 to 0.52 per cent in 2018-19 assessment year, said the report. It also pointed out a reduction in scrutiny cases in Maharashtra to 0.38 per cent. In the 2015-16 assessment year, the financial capital was at a high of 0.98 per cent, that is 7.48 million cases.

Read the full report in the Economic Times