Tackling Delayed Income Tax Refunds

The taxpayers who have filed their returns and sent their verification form in June or July, usually get the acknowledgment and refunds around this time of the year. But many taxpayers complain that they did not get the intimation of the receipt of their ITR-V on time. And some complain about delayed refunds. After filing the online income tax return, and ITR-V sent to income tax department, I-T department acknowledges the receipt of the ITR-V through SMS or email. Then the taxpayer is notified once the return is processed and after that refund process is initiated.

In many cases, taxpayers forgot to send ITR-V within 120 day deadline, which results in not receiving the acknowledgment from the IT department. But sometimes you don’t get refunds even after completing the return filing procedure in time, in this case you should ascertain the possible causes to resolve the matter. Here are some possible causes:

1. Non-submission of ITR-V: The last date of filing income tax return is 31 July but the process is not complete only by filing return online. You need to submit ITR-V with income tax department within 120 days of filing return. It should be sent either by normal post or speed post to I-T department’s Centralized Processing Centre in Bangalore. If you have forgotten to send this form, you will not receive the acknowledgment or refunds in time. Those who have filed their returns in late June or July still have time to complete the process.

2. Change in Bank Account or Address: If you have closed your bank account after entering the account number in your tax return, it can be one of the reasons for not receiving the tax refund. An incorrect bank account number in your tax return could be another reason. Generally taxpayers are advised to opt for direct credit of the refund amount to ensure quicker processing. The tax refunds of amount above Rs 25000 are issued by cheque even if the taxpayer has opted to receive by direct credit. The taxpayers are advised to mention their permanent address in their tax returns as cheques are dispatched to the address mentioned in tax return.

3. Incomplete Details: You have to be extremely careful about entering all the relevant details at the time of filing returns, if you are claiming a tax refund.

You should ascertain the reason why you haven’t received the tax refund. If you have filed return online, you can check your refund status on the I-T portal, incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. If it has been rejected, you will also be able to view the reasons for the same. If the tax refund is stuck either because of an incorrect account number or incorrect address mentioned in tax return, you have to follow the procedure laid out for requesting for re-issue of refunds. If the return is e-filed, one can log in to his account with the I-T department’s efiling portal and follow the simple steps for re-issue of refund.