Many taxpayers who have filed their income tax returns and claimed a refund wait for the amount to be credited to their bank accounts. Some refunds are processed relatively quickly, while the rest might take longer. A delay doesn’t necessarily mean there is an error in the return or that the taxpayer won’t be able to receive the refund.
The income tax department says refund processing begins after the ITR has been successfully e-verified. Taxpayers generally need to wait about four to five weeks for the refund to be credited after the relevant processing stages are completed.
If your refund has not been forthcoming, then there are several things to look at.
ITR has not been e-verified
One of the first things taxpayers should ask is if their income tax return has been verified successfully.
Filing an ITR alone is not sufficient for processing to proceed. The return must be e-verified electronically or the signed ITR-V must reach the Centralised Processing Centre within the specified period.
The current time limit for e-verification or submission of ITR-V is 30 days from the date of filing. If verification has not been completed, refund processing will not begin.
Bank account details may be causing the delay.
A second reason for a delayed refund is the bank account from which the money will be paid.
Taxpayers should verify that the account number and IFSC details provided on the e-filing portal are correct. The bank account should also be pre-validated on the Income Tax Department's portal.
An incorrect account number, incorrect IFSC, inactive account, or any other banking issue can prevent the refund from being credited even after the return has been processed.
Mismatch in income or tax information
The Income Tax Department compares information reported in an ITR with data in its systems. More checks are necessary if the return and the information in Form 26AS, the Annual Information Statement, or anything else is different.
If the income reported by a taxpayer does not correspond with information available to the department, then the return may need to be further processed before the refund is released.
TDS details may not match
Tax deducted at source is another important area that taxpayers need to check when a refund is delayed.
A taxpayer may claim a refund based on TDS reflected in the return. But if the TDS claimed does not match the tax credit available in the department's records, the refund could be affected.
Such discrepancies may arise when an employer, bank or another deductor has not filed its TDS statement correctly or has subsequently filed a correction.
Taxpayers should therefore compare the TDS claimed in their ITR with Form 26AS and AIS.
Your return may be undergoing further checks
Some of these ITRs may take longer to process because the department’s systems identify information that needs further verification.
No mistake or violation of tax rule is made by a taxpayer; this is not necessarily the case. If certain information needs to be looked through in any form during processing, a return can take a longer time.
Taxpayers should regularly check their registered email address and the income tax e-filing portal for any communication, notice or intimation.
You may have received an intimation
If a discrepancy is found during processing, the Income Tax Department may send the taxpayer an intimation.
If the refund received is lower than the amount originally claimed, taxpayers should look at the processing details and the intimation issued by the department. Adjustments made during processing can change the final refund amount.
Taxpayers waiting beyond the usual four-to-five-week period should therefore check their registered email as well as their e-filing account.
Refund may have failed
A refund can also fail after processing it. The reason is that the bank account details are inaccurate or there are other problems associated with the bank account.
In such cases, eligible taxpayers would need to submit a refund reissue request through the income tax e-filing portal.
Before issuing the request, taxpayers should make sure that the bank account chosen for the refund is active and correctly pre-validated.
How do I check ITR refund status?
The income tax department e-filing portal can also be used by taxpayers to check their return and refund status.
When logging into the portal, go to the e-File section and select Income Tax Returns. Choose View Filed Returns and select the relevant assessment year.
The return details can then be opened to check whether the ITR has been processed and whether a refund has been determined or issued.
If a refund has already been issued, it is possible to get some information about its status for taxpayers.
If the refund is delayed then what do you do?
When a refund has not been received in the usual processing period, check if the ITR has been successfully e-verified.
Next, verify your bank account details and confirm that the account is pre-validated. Taxpayers should also compare the income and TDS information in their return with Form 26AS and AIS.
It is also important to check the registered email address and e-filing portal for any notice, intimation, or request for further action.
If the refund has not been received, taxpayers can use the refund reissue facility on the e-filing portal.
A delayed refund is not necessarily a serious problem. Sometimes this delay is due to verification (for example, for data matching and data matching with a bank account) or simply a regular check-in for processing. Check the return status and respond to any communication from the Income Tax Department as soon as possible to ensure the problem is identified and resolved.
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