Filing your income tax return (ITR) on time doesn’t always mean you’ll receive your refund quickly.
The tax refund process involves several steps, and if something goes wrong at any point, the entire process can get delayed.
You may be eligible for a tax refund when the tax you’ve already paid (through TDS, self-assessment tax, etc.) is more than your actual tax liability. The income tax department calculates this liability after considering all deductions and exemptions during the assessment.
In our country, Income Tax Return (ITR) refunds may be delayed for a number of reasons.
Vishal Gehrana, Advocate on Record, Supreme Court of India (associated with Karanjawala & Co) said that one common reason is the verification issue. If a taxpayer has not completed the verification process of their ITR either through an Electronic Verification Code (EVC) or by submitting a signed ITR-V to the Central Processing Center (CPC), the processing of the refund may get delayed.
The discrepancies in the ITR details – such as mismatch in the income figures, inaccurate bank account information, or errors in PAN details – may also cause delays in the processing of ITR and refund,” he added.
In cases where ITR involves complex income sources or multiple deductions, it may require manual processing, which can take much longer time to process and refund the ITR.
Furthermore, delays can also arise from backlogs at the CPC, especially during peak filing times, or from a taxpayer not complying with notices or requests from the tax department. Therefore, a taxpayer should attempt to file his return much before the deadline as helps to prevent the backlogs.
What to do if ITR refund is delayed?
If your refund is delayed, the first thing you should do is check the status on the income tax e-filing portal. This will give you details on the current stage of processing and any issues that need your attention.
“If the delay is significant and unexplained, you can raise a grievance through the ‘e-Nivaran’ section on the e-filing portal or contact the CPC helpline for an update. It’s important to respond quickly to any notices or requests from the tax department, as delays in your response can further extend the processing time,” said Gehrana.
Steps to raise tax refund reissue request
If your refund process is stuck for a long time, you might need to file a refund re-issue request. Here’s how you can do it:
- Go to the ITR e-filing portal and log in with your credentials.
- Navigate to the ‘Services’ tab and click on the ‘Refund Reissue’ button.
- A new webpage will open. Click on ‘Create Refund Reissue Request.’ Select the ITR for which you want to request a refund reissue.
- Choose the bank account where you want to receive the refund. If the selected account is not validated, you’ll need to validate it first.
- Click on proceed, then choose a verification method—Aadhaar OTP, EVC, or DSC.