New Delhi: The number of taxpayers earning above Rs 1 crore per annum has risen to over 1.40 lakh in the country in the last four years, depicting a growth of about 60 per cent, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said Monday. Releasing key statistics of income tax and direct taxes for a period of about four years, the policy-making body of the IT department said the number of individual taxpayers earning over Rs 1 crore annually had seen a growth of about 68 per cent.

"The total number of taxpayers (corporates, firms, Hindu undivided families among others) showing income of above Rs 1 crore has registered a sharp increase.

"While 88,649 taxpayers had disclosed income above Rs 1 crore in assessment year 2014-15, the figure was 1,40,139 for AY 2017-18, which is a growth of about 60 per cent," the CBDT said.

Similarly, it said, the number of individual taxpayers disclosing income above Rs 1 crore had increased during the same period from 48,416 to 81,344, which translated into a growth of 68 per cent.

CBDT Chairman Sushil Chandra said these numbers were a result of putting in a number of legislative, informative and enforcement efforts by the tax department over the last four years.

The data also added that a growth of more than 80 per cent was registered in the number of returns filed in the last four financial years -- from 3.79 crore in 2013-14 to 6.85 crore in 2017-18.