CBDT said the peak filing rate per second on August 31 was at 196 ITRs.

The Income Tax (I-T) Department has made history with the highest ever jump in the e-filing of income-tax returns (ITRs). An all-time high of 49,29,121 ITRs was filed in a single day on August 31, said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Sunday.

CBDT said the peak filing rate per second on August 31 was at 196 ITRs and peak filing rate per minute was at 7,447 ITRs while peak filing rate per hour was at 3,87,571 ITRs. The Information Security team of I-T Department thwarted over 2,205 malicious attacks on the website aimed at disrupting services in the peak period.

"This has perhaps created a history as the tax administration nowhere in the world has achieved such huge online e-filing ITRs in a single day and that too so smoothly; with the I-T Department actively interacting with taxpayers on social media to help them resolve their grievances and e-filing related queries and getting accolades in return," said the CBDT in a statement.

CBDT, which on Sunday released the data on e-filing of ITRs for which the last date of submission was August 31, 2019, said "this is a remarkable achievement as taxpayers are experiencing a whole new facet of the I-T Department, which is not only taxpayer-friendly but is also of a facilitator providing informational assistance with the pre-filled forms and handholding e-filers, besides being proactively responsive on social media to help and guide taxpayers."