HOW TO DEAL WITH INCOME TAX REFUND DELAYS

Delay or non receipt of tax refund is the biggest grievance of many taxpayers. Some common reasons for delay are unintentional error in bank details, delay in processing of paper income tax return and change in residential address.

REFUND QUALIFICATION: Most companies ask their employees to declare the details of their tax planning at the beginning of the year, but some employees fail to make such declaration and it leads to higher tax deduction which in turn results in tax refund.
Some individuals pay advance tax on the capital gains they make during the year.

EFILING SPEEDS UP REFUND PROCESS: If return is filed electronically then there will be speedy processing of refunds. Mostly refunds are received within 3 months of filing the return.

STEPS FOR A FASTER REFUND: To get timely and hassle free refund you should provide correct details such as bank account number, MICR code,etc. This will help in directly depositing refund in bank account of tax payer
In case of refund through cheque, you should ensure bank details mention in return is correct. It is better if an individual opts for a direct credit facility as the expiry date on cheques have been reduced, to 3 months from 6 months from the date of issue.Newly married or divorced females should ensure that the name in the bank account provided is the same as the one on the PAN card.

TRACKING YOUR REFUND: An individual can track income tax refund status online in simple steps, visit tin.tin.nsdl.com/refundstatuslogin.html, then entrer PAN, select assessment year and click submit. Then applicable refund status would be displayed.

DEALING WITH DELAYS IN REFUND: A tax payer should visit the tax office to follow up refund and enquire on the reasons for it not being processed.