income tax refund
If you have filed Income Tax Return (ITR) on time and its status is showing Processed, but the money has not yet come to your bank account, then do not worry. You are not alone but many taxpayers are facing this problem.
Generally, the Income Tax Department sends the refund in 7 to 21 working days after processing the ITR. But many times it happens that the status appears processed, but the refund amount does not come into the account. In such a situation, it is important for you to know what is the reason for the delay and how it can be rectified.
First understand how much time it takes for refund
According to the Income Tax Department, the process of sending the refund usually takes 4 to 5 weeks. This time depends on your ITR filing date and processing speed. If your ITR has been processed recently, it would be wise to wait for a while. But if several weeks have passed and the money has not arrived, you should take the next step.
Refund not received? So first follow these steps
- First of all go to the e-filing website of the Income Tax Department https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/.
- Login with your login details and OTP.
- Go to ‘Refund / Demand Status’ section. There you will see when the refund was processed and the amount sent.
- If the status is showing ‘Processed’ but the money has not arrived, then check the bank details carefully such as bank account number and IFSC code.
- If the bank details are absolutely correct, even if the money has not arrived, then Refund Reissue Request will have to be submitted.
- As soon as this request is submitted, the refund process starts again and the money can come within a few days.
Possible reasons for delay in ITR refund
There can be many reasons behind refund delay. Some common reasons are mistake in bank account number or IFSC code, bank account not being e-verified, difference between Form 26AS and ITR, discrepancy in TDS details, refund amount being rejected by the bank or Aadhaar not being linked to your bank account.