New Delhi, July 24 -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday highlighted record Income Tax Return (ITR) filings and improvements in grievance redressal, while urging the Income Tax Department to further expedite refund processing to strengthen taxpayer confidence and enhance ease of compliance.

Addressing the 167th Income Tax Day celebrations, the first since the "Income Tax Act, 2025" came into force, the Finance Minister said the Department's role has expanded beyond revenue collection to include fairness, ease of doing business and citizen-centric service delivery. She outlined 5Rs of responsive tax governance.

The Minister said the current income tax filing season has recorded significant milestones, with the e-Filing p...