If the IT department determines that taxpayers taxes paid to the department exceed their actual tax responsibilities, a refund is initiated. An intimation notice under section 143 (1) with the amount of the refund and a refund sequence number is sent to the taxpayer via SMS and an email. However, taxpayers must file an income tax return (ITR) to receive a refund of the excess tax paid.
Now, if you have not received the refund, the first thing that you should do is raise a refund request. Nevertheless, there can be multiple other reasons for not receiving the refund that we will explore in this blog.
General Timeline For Receiving Tax Refund
You should receive your refund in your pre-validated bank account within 30-45 days after your income tax return (ITR) has been submitted.
If you check the income tax refund status of 2020-21, many taxpayers have not received refunds yet despite filing income tax returns (ITRs) 4-5 months ago. While some taxpayers have received their refunds in as little as a week, others have not received theirs for months.
If you are also one of them, fret not. There are a variety of reasons why your refund may be delayed. Lets have a look at some of the major ones:
1. Incomplete Bank Account Information:
There’s a possibility that while filing tax returns, taxpayers didn’t provide the correct bank account number or other banking information. This may lead to discrepancies, which ultimately results in delays. Therefore, taxpayers should double-check their bank account information before completing an ITR.
2. TDS/TCS Mismatch:
Often, the amount of TDS claimed and TDS deducted does not match. The mismatch in TDS claimed in 26AS may be due to incorrect TDS return filing by the employer or TDS deductor (e.g., bank). An ITR cannot be completed because of a proposed adjustment under section 143(1)(a) or because it is defective under section 139(9). To ensure that your refund request is met, you will need to file a revised return. The taxpayers should check them and if required, contact the deductor to fix their TDS return.
3. Refund Request Under Process
It’s also possible that the delay is at the level of the IT department. It could take some time for the request to be processed, or there could be a delay on the bank’s end. If you have already sent the ITR- V to the bank, send a new acknowledgement to CPC, Bangalore.
4. Review Your ITR:
If there is a discrepancy between the information on your tax return and the information on file with the IT Department, your refund may be delayed. So, go over your ITR to see if you made any mistakes. If you select the incorrect ITR form, misspell essential personal information, or enter incorrect information, your refund will be delayed. Income tax refunds are now solely granted electronically, according to the tax department’s new regime, which implies that refunds are credited directly to the taxpayer’s bank accounts. If the bank account number entered on the tax form is wrong, a refund will be delayed until the error is addressed.
5. Additional Documents:
The Income Tax Department may require additional documentation to process your refund request in specific situations. If the department requires more proof to complete your refund request, please contact the assessing officer as soon as possible by phone or mail and submit the needed documents to ensure that your refund request is processed quickly and the cash is credited as soon as possible.
6. Prevalidate Bank Account
The bank account must be prevalidated in order to receive an income tax refund. You can access profile settings by going to the income tax department’s website and logging in with your PAN and password. You can easily find a prevalidation option for your bank account.
7. Re-Evaluate
If there is an overdue tax amount, refund requests may be denied, and you may receive a letter from the department detailing the outstanding tax amount. If you find yourself in this scenario, go over all of your documentation and recalculate your tax liability and refund.
8. E-Verification
E-verification of ITR is mandatory within 120 days of filing ITR to complete the process. If ITR is not verified, then your ITR will become invalid & a refund will not be processed so dont forget to Verify your ITR after filing.
9. Adjustment of Outstanding Demands of Previous Years
If there is any outstanding demand from previous years then your refund may adjust with such outstanding demand. In such a scenario, check the reason for the outstanding demand and take necessary action so that your refund can be processed.
Hope you find this information helpful if you have not received an income tax refund. If you require expert assistance in completing your income tax return or income tax e-filing, our eCA Assisted plans are available to assist you. If you have any queries related to your IT refund, you may contact our experts at 9660996655 or email us at crm@tax2win.in.