Income-tax Department thanks the taxpayers for making e-enabled initiatives a success It has been the constant endeavor of the Income-tax Department to make compliance simpler for the taxpayer through the use of technology. E-filing of returns, refund banker scheme and the newly introduced e-verification of Income-tax returns for the Assessment year 2015-16 are some of the key initiatives undertaken by the Department for making filing of returns simple and easy for the common taxpayer. The Income Tax Department would like to acknowledge and thank the taxpayer for the widespread support for its e-Governance initiatives. The taxpayers have come forward in greater numbers for e-filing of returns in the current year. In the Financial Year (F.Y.) 2015-16, the Department has received 2.06 crore returns on the e-filing portal as on 07.09.2015 which is an increase of 26.12% over the corresponding period of the preceding the F.Y. 2014-15, when 1.63 crore returns were e-filed. The peak filing rate in the F.Y. 2015-16 touched 3,475 returns per minute as compared to 2,901 returns per minute in the F.Y. 2014-15. To facilitate the taxpayers by providing end-to-end e-enabled services and reduce compliance burden, the Department offered the facility of electronic verification of Income Tax Return for the A.Y. 2015-16 through an electronic verification code (EVC). In the short period since its introduction, 32.95 lakh ereturns have been verified through EVC. Use of EVC has dramatically reduced the time taken for processing of e-filed returns for the A.Y. 2015-16. As on 07.09.2015 Central Processing Centre had processed 45.18 lakh returns relating to the A.Y. 2015-16 and issued refunds to 22.14 lakh tax payers who had claimed refunds for the A.Y.2015-16. The Department remains committed to improving taxpayer services through enhanced use and further improvement in technologies.