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Income Tax Grievance: Status Check, Complaint Number, Email ID, Resolution Time

By Mohammed S Chokhawala

Updated on: Jul 11th, 2024

9 min read

The Income Tax Department has a Unified Grievance Management system called e-Nivaran to address taxpayers’ issues. It is an online mode available for making complaints related to filing of taxes.

So, if you have any income tax grievance, find out how to submit a complaint and even apply for an escalation, if required.

How Do I Submit a Grievance to Income Tax?

To submit a grievance to the income tax department, there are two ways. Your choice will depend on whether or not you have registration on the e-filing portal.

If you are Registered on the E-filing Portal

These are the steps to follow if you have registration on the e-filing portal:

Step 1 – Visit the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department and log in to your account.

Step 2 – Navigate to the grievances tab and select the ‘Submit Grievance’ option.

Step 3 – Select the type of grievance and enter the details

Once your grievance is updated, you will see a success message and a transaction ID. Moreover, you will also receive an email on your registered e-mail ID.

If you are not Registered on the E-filing Portal

Step 1 – Go to the e-filing website

Step 2 – Locate the Grievance option in the footer of the webpage, it will be under the ‘Contact Us’ section

Step 3 – Select the ‘I do not have a PAN/TAN’ option and ‘Continue’.

Step 4 – Enter all your personal details

Step 5 – Enter the OTP sent to your phone number and email id

Step 6 – Select the type of grievance and enter grievance details

Step 7 – Enter the Assessment year, Financial year, and PAN/TAN Application number

Step 8 – Write a grievance description (You can also add attachments as proof)

Step 9 – Click on Submit Grievance

In addition, you can also address your issues via the income tax grievance email id which is: webmanager@incometax.gov.in.

How Long does it Take to Resolve Grievance in Income Tax?

Generally, income tax grievances are rectified within 8 weeks after the petition is received. However, most grievances are addressed within one month from their date of receipt.
Furthermore, if a grievance comes from the Prime Minister’s or Finance Minister’s Office or the Central Board of Direct Taxes, the income tax grievance resolution time is of 21 days.

What Kind of Grievances are Addressed on e-Nivaran?

In the income tax grievance portal, you can file a complaint against the following:

Department	Category	Sub category
AO	Misc. Application Pending	Misc. Application Pending
AO	Others	Others
CPC-ITR	Feedback	Appreciation
		Bugs
		Content
		Performance
		Suggestions
		Usability
	Social Media	Not able to log grievance on e-filing portal
	Social Media	Others
	Tax Related Queries	Miscellaneous
DIT (Systems)	National Website Related	National Website Related
	PAN related technical issues	Allotment related technical issues
	Others	Others
NSDL	Allotment of same PAN to different person identity	Pending for resolution at NSDL
	Digitization errors in PAN application	Pending for resolution at NSDL
	Discrepancy letters of PAN applications	Documents couriered to NSDL, POD provided by applicant>>
	Discrepancy letters of PAN applications	Documents hand delivered but untraceable
	Issues related to Online PAN Applications in terms of receipt of documents.	Documents delivered but untraceable
	PAN application rejected by ITD/Asked for confirmation or photocopy	PAN application has been rejected by ITD (multiple CR) - Action is required at NSDL e-Gov
	PAN applications which are not uploaded to NSDL e-Gov Central System	PAN application submitted to TIN-FC is not uploaded to TIN Central System
	Others	Others
UTIITSL	Digitization errors in PAN Applications	Digitization errors in PAN Applications
	Discrepancy letters of PAN Applications	Discrepancy letters of PAN Applications
	Others	Others
e-Filing	Communication	Intimation Related
	DSC Related	DSC registration Process
		How to Download EmSigner Utility
		How to Sign using emSigner
		How to get DSC
		Unable to Register DSC
		Unable to sign using emSigner
	FO Portal Grievance Related	How to raise Grievance
		Status of Grievance raised
		Unable to raise Grievance
		Unable to view raised Grievance
	Filing of Return/Forms	Enable Macros
		How to Revise Return
		MICR Code / IFSC Code
		Non Filing of returns
		Unable to redirect to TRACES website (View form 26AS)
		e-Filing Process Flow
	Forms Related	Other Forms
	General Enquiry	Due Date
		Income Tax Queries
		Know Your AO/ TAN/ PAN
		Local ITO Details
		News And Update Related Queries
		Non - Income Tax Queries
		Notification Received
		PAN Card Details
	Instant PAN through Aadhaar	How to Download e-PAN
		How to apply e-PAN
		How to get physical PAN card
		Modification and updation in e-PAN
		OTP related issues
		Unable to get Instant PAN
		Unable to view e-Pan status
		e-PAN Status
	Profile	Aadhaar Related Queries
	Profile	Net-banking Queries
	Registration	CA Registration Process
		External Agency
		General Queries
		PAN Registration Process
		TAN Registration Process
		Unable to Register CA
		Unable to Register PAN
		Unable to Register TAN
		Unable to register PAN/TAN
	TAN Related	Cancelation of TAN Registration
		How to Upload TDS Statement
		TAN Approval / Rejection
		TAN Related Queries
		TDS Statement Status
		TDS Statement Upload Issue
		TDS Statement Utility Issue
		Others
	TaxGenie / Chatbot Services	Banner Bot
		Chat Bot
		Others
	e-Filing Portal Access	Account Temporarily Locked
		Error : Something went wrong
		Portal Not accessible
		Portal Slowness
		Session Expire
		Suspicious activity detection
		Unable to Login to the e-filing account
	e-Proceedings	e-Proceeding General Queries
Others	ITDREIN- Password related

Department Explained

Assessing Officer (AO): This department handles issues directly involving your assigned AO, such as unreceived appeal orders, incorrect outstanding demands, application delays, and PAN-related problems.
Centralized Processing Center - Income Tax Return (CPC-ITR): For ITR-related queries, the CPC-ITR is your point of contact. They deal with communication delays, demand discrepancies, feedback, verification processes, rectification requests, and refunds.
Centralized Processing Center - TDS (CPC-TDS): CPC-TDS department tackles issues like discrepancies in Form 26AS, challan corrections, defaults, Form 16/16A/27D-related questions, KYC matters, and registration queries.
Directorate of Income Tax (Systems) [DIT(Systems)]: Tackles technical issues related to the tax system, such as Assessment-related technical problems, National website issues, PAN-related technical glitches, Refund banker (SBI) issues, OLTAS (Online Tax Application System) technical difficulties, Non-filing of return notices and other system errors
National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL): NSDL handles all PAN-related concerns, including Aadhaar linking, duplicate PAN allocations, digitization errors, discrepancy letters, online application issues, delivery problems, rejections, and upload delays.
Unique Identification Authority of India Infrastructure Technology Services Limited (UTIITSL): This department, along with NSDL, handles PAN-related concerns like Aadhaar linking, duplicate allocations, digitization errors, discrepancy letters, online application issues, delivery problems, and rejections.
E-Filing: Encountering problems while filing your return electronically? The e-Filing department tackles communication gaps, compliance portal queries, late filing requests, cybercrime concerns, DSC-related issues, FO Portal grievances, form submission problems, general inquiries, instant PAN issues, JSON utility glitches, outstanding demands, password resets, profile updates, rectification requests, refund inquiries, representative registrations, general registrations, TAN-related questions, e-proceedings, and verification problems.

How can I Check my ITR Grievance Status?

For income tax grievance status check follow the steps given below:

Step 1 – Locate the ‘Grievance Status’ under the ‘Grievances’ tab
Step 2 – Enter the Acknowledgement Number/AY/Status
Step 3 – Provide all necessary details

Now, you can view your income tax grievance status.

How do I Escalate an Income Tax Refund Issue?

After tracking your grievance status income tax, if you feel the need to escalate an income tax refund issue, you can follow these methods:

Call and inform the Income Tax Department’s Centralised Processing Centre(CPC). They are available on call (on 1800 103 4455 or +91-80-46605200) from Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
In case of manual income tax returns for previous years, you can write a grievance letter for income tax refund to the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer. Moreover, you also have to attach the copies of your Income Tax Returns.
Furthermore, if you are feeling that your refund requests are taking too long for resolution, you can state your concerns by sending a letter to the Additional Commissioner of Income Tax.
In addition, if you still think that your problem is taking too much time to get resolved, you can visit the Ombudsman’s office. They will send a letter to the Income Tax Commissioner about your issue for its prompt resolution.

Generally, the Income Tax Department tries to process refund requests within a short period of time. However, in some cases the resolution of such problems may take months. Under such circumstances, you need to stay calm and regularly check the status of your request.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What to do if I cannot view my filed ITR on the Income Tax Portal?

If you cannot download your filed ITR form, you must file a grievance report. Furthermore, you can also add screenshots as proof.

What to do if the e-verify option becomes unresponsive?

You should file a grievance report if the e-verify option becomes unresponsive. Select ‘e-filing’ in the department section and ‘verification of returns/forms’ in the category section. Moreover, you can add screenshots for further evidence.

How many days does it take to resolve a refund reissue?

Usually, after the e-verification of your Income Tax Return, it takes about 20 to 45 days in order to resolve a refund reissue. However, if you are sending your ITR-V to the CPC offline, it may take additional time.

Can the refund amount be adjusted for some other tax payment?

Yes, the refund amount can be adjusted for clearing any of your previous pending tax payments by the Assessing Officer.

Is there any tax on the refund amount?

No, the refund amount is not applicable for taxation. Although, the interest obtained on this amount is taxable.

How do you escalate a tax grievance?

Taxpayers can send a grievance petition directly to the Information and Facilitation Counter or you can also sent it by post or email to the public relation officer.

How to complain about a income tax refund not yet received?

You can contact the CPC on their helpline numbers or even you can file your complain in grievance section.

Can you file a grievance on the income tax portal even if you are a unregistered person?

Yes, you can file grievances on income tax portal even you are a unregistered person. You can find the grievances section under the contact us heading, you can proceed from there.

Can you rectify the grievance petition sent?

Within 8 weeks of receiving the grievance petition you can rectify the petition. However, only within a month the grievances are addresed.

About the Author

Mohammed S Chokhawala

Content Writer

I'm a chartered accountant, well-versed in the ins and outs of income tax, GST, and keeping the books balanced. Numbers are my thing, I can sift through financial statements and tax codes with the best of them. But there's another side to me – a side that thrives on words, not figures. Read more

Quick Summary

The Income Tax Department's e-Nivaran allows taxpayers to submit grievances online, with resolution usually within 8 weeks. They can escalate issues to CPC or Assessing Officer. Grievances may cover various categories from technical glitches to PAN/TAN problems.