Income tax scrutiny to remain limited despite ITR filings surge Enforcement action by the income tax department will be reserved for cases where specific tip-offs regarding large-scale tax evasions have been received The income tax department will maintain the number of income tax returns (ITRs) chosen for scrutiny at the current level of less than 1% of all returns, in spite of a surge in individual tax filings to keep the process non-intrusive and taxpayer-friendly. Gentle persuasion through text messages, emails and advertisements will remain the department’s main ways of interacting with taxpayers, while enforcement action will be reserved for cases where specific tip-offs regarding large-scale evasions have been received. Out of the 52.8 million income-tax returns filed for the 2015-16 fiscal year, only about 300,000 cases, or around 0.6%, were scrutinized, a person privy to the deliberations within the tax department said on condition of anonymity. “Ev