NEW DELHI, Feb 1: Nirmala Sitharaman, the minister of finance, stated on Thursday that there have been no modifications to the tax rates for import tariffs or other indirect taxes. She added that since 2014, the number of tax filers has increased by 2.4 times and the amount of direct tax collected has tripled. According to her, refunds have been issued more quickly and the processing period for tax returns has been slashed from 93 days in FY14 to 10 days. The administration is still working towards fiscal consolidation, with the goal of cutting the deficit to 4.5 percent in 2025–2026. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) tax base has more than doubled since FY14, the speaker continued.
