With this, the department has issued letters in 2.45 lakh cases. It has identified 12 lakh people who do not file returns and is taking follow-up action on them.

"As a result of this exercise, 3,44,365 returns have been received from the target segment. Such persons have also paid self-assessment tax amounting to Rs. 577 crore and advance tax of Rs. 408 crore," it said.

The department now proposes to extend this exercise to individuals who have conducted high-value transactions during FY11 and FY12, the statement added.

The Finance Ministry is also developing a dedicated module on the e-filing portal which will give taxpayers details of returns not filed, ITR-V not submitted and demand not paid, among others, as a step towards greater transparency.

The government plans to collect over Rs. 6.68 lakh crore from direct taxes in the current fiscal year (FY14), higher than Rs. 5.65 lakh crore in the previous fiscal year.

PTI