Of the total amount, the indirect tax department has processed 7.873 mln claims worth 38.54 bln rupees in the week ended Friday, it said in an official release. On Apr 8, the government announced that it would fast-track pending refunds worth 180 bln rupees under direct as well as indirect taxes immediately in a bid to provide relief to businesses and individuals.
The finance ministry had earlier said about 100,000 business entities, including micro, small and medium enterprises, were likely to benefit from the government’s decision to issue all pending refunds under customs duty and the goods and services tax. Earlier this week, the ministry said it had issued over 1.02 mln income tax refunds amounting to around 42.50 bln rupees in the week ended Tuesday.