income tax
ITR Refund: Many months have passed since you filed Income Tax Return (ITR), but if the refund has not come to your account yet, then you are not alone. This year there are lakhs of taxpayers who are continuously waiting for refund. People are registering their complaints from social media to income tax portal. The question is that if ITR is filed on time, then why is the money stuck?
In fact, this time the Income Tax Department has made the rules for processing returns more stringent than before. Even a small mistake or discrepancy in information can delay refunds for months.
Filing and processing ITR are different things.
Often people assume that once ITR is submitted, the refund will come automatically. But the truth is that filing returns is only the first step. After that the department checks every information given by you. Refunds are not issued until a thorough investigation is completed and the return is processed. If any error is found at any level, your file goes into processing pending.
Difference between income and government records becomes cause of trouble
This year, the Income Tax Department is especially paying attention to those cases where a difference has been found between the income declared by the taxpayers and the government records. The department looks at your information by combining it with Form 26AS, AIS (Annual Information Statement) and TIS. Suppose you have not shown interest income, profit from shares or any freelance income in ITR, but it is recorded in AIS, then it will be considered as income mismatch. In such cases, the refund is stopped immediately and sometimes a notice is also sent.
If e-verification is not done, the return may be canceled
Many people fill ITR but forget to e-verify it. This is a common but serious mistake. Without e-verification, your return is not legally recognized. If ITR is not verified through Aadhaar OTP, Net Banking or EVC within the stipulated time, it can be declared invalid. In such a situation, leave alone a refund, you may have to do the entire process again.
Small mistake in bank account, big impact
The refund comes directly into your bank account, so it is very important to have correct bank details. If the account number is wrong, there is a mistake in the IFSC code or the bank account is not linked to PAN, then the money may get stuck. Additionally, if your bank account has not yet been validated on the income tax portal, the refund can also be withheld.
Old tax dues can also become a hindrance
In many cases, taxpayers are not even aware that they have some tax outstanding from the previous year. If the department finds any such outstanding, it compensates it from the existing refund. In this situation, the Income Tax Department sends information under Section 143(1), due to which the refund process becomes longer.
If you have not received the refund yet, then first go to the Income Tax Portal and check the status of the return. Match AIS and 26AS carefully, confirm e-verification and double check bank account details. Sometimes a small precaution can save you months of waiting.