It’s been 30-45 days after you have filed your income tax return (ITR), which was well before the deadline, yet you haven’t received the expected refund and may be wondering what the hold-up is.
Generally, you are entitled to a refund in cases where you have paid taxes higher when compared to the actual tax liability in a financial year.
The income tax is calculated after considering all the deductions and exemptions at the time of filing of income tax return (ITR). An income tax refund is any excess amount paid by tax deducted at source (TDS), tax collected at source (TCS), advance tax, or self-assessment tax.
Note:Pre-validation of the bank account (in which the income tax refund is to be credited) and subsequent linking of the permanent account number (PAN) remains mandatory to receive an income tax refund. You can visit the income tax portal to check if your account is pre-validated and PAN linked suitably.
The status of your income tax returns can be any of the following: ‘ITR Filed’, ‘Successfully e-verified, ‘Under Processing’, and ‘Processed with refund due’.
The Central Processing Centre (CPC) in Bengaluru sends an intimation over an email under Section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (ITA), which will confirm the refund amount that you are eligible to receive. From the day of e-verification to receiving the intimation under Section 143(1), the whole process could take anywhere from 15 to 90 days.
Also, in case of a delay in a tax refund, the income tax department is liable to pay 6% interest.
Generally, it is advised to check your income tax refund status after 30 days of filing the ITR, You should also ensure that you enter an active mobile number and email details while filing the ITR, so that you receive regular intimations from the tax department.
There are three methods to check your income tax refund status:
Method 3
However, through this method, you cannot see the status but can only see the details of the tax refund amount and if it is credited into your account.
Refund failure mainly happens due to the non-validation of your bank account details in the income tax portal. Hence, if your refund is determined and it is not issued, check if you have validated your bank details in the income tax portal. To pre-validate your bank account, you are required to log in to the income tax portal and click on ‘My Profile’ and select ‘My Bank Account’. Now, click on ‘Add Bank Account’, add correct bank details, and complete the verification process. Then you click on ‘Services’, select the ‘Refund Reissue’ option for the relevant assessment year and select the validated bank account in which you want to receive the refund. You will receive an acknowledgement number for the same on the successful completion of the reissue request.
There is no need to worry as the income tax department will make suitable adjustments in this regard. Also, a return of income can be revised at any time three months before the end of the assessment year or before the assessment, whichever is earlier.
You need to log in to the income tax portal and click on the ‘Grievances’ tab and select ‘Submit Grievance’. You can select the appropriate issue that you would like to be addressed on the page that comes up.