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The deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) ended on July 31, 2024, with over 7.28 crore taxpayers filing their income tax returns within the stipulated deadline. This is 7.5% more than last year.
Till August 23, the Income Tax Department had processed 5.34 crore returns out of these. Some of these taxpayers got their refund within a few days of filing their ITR. While some taxpayers are still waiting for their refund. Currently, more than 2 crore verified ITRs are lying unprocessed.
so today news of need I will talk about the reason behind the delay in getting the refund. Also, we will know that-
- How much time does ITR processing take?
- What to do if your refund is stuck?
Expert: Diksha Shukla, Financial Expert, Gurugram (Haryana)
Question- How much time does ITR processing take?
answer- Financial expert Diksha Shukla says that the Income Tax Department takes 15 to 45 days to process the ITR after the date of e-verification.
If offline verification is done then the time limit is extended.
After filing the income tax return, it should be processed within 9 months from the end of the financial year. That is, the refund for ITR filed for the financial year 2023-24 will be received on or before December 31, 2025. If processing is taking more time, it means that the Income Tax Department is reviewing your return. If the ITR is processed very late, taxpayers can register a complaint by visiting the income tax portal.
If the refund is not received in the meantime, then taxpayers should keep checking their ITR intimation messages. Also, keep checking the email for notifications sent by the Income Tax Department regarding ITR refund.
Question- Why is there delay in ITR refund?
answer- The common reason for delay in ITR refund is verification.
During verification by the Income Tax Department, everything is looked at very closely. Such as-
- What is your return?
- How much deduction or exemption you have claimed.
- Have these things already been included in Form 16?
- Whether the form you have used is correct or not.
- The Income Tax Department may need additional information related to the financial year.
- There is no discrepancy in the assessment of tax.
- There may be delay at the time of filing tax return due to difference in details related to bank account number and name.
- Form 26AS represents the total of all taxes paid under your PAN. If there is a mismatch between the TDS details in your return and Form 26AS, the refund may get delayed.
- Apart from this, there can also be delays due to backlog in CPC. Therefore, taxpayers should try to file their returns well before the deadline as this helps in preventing backlog.
The taxpayer is eligible to receive interest on income refund. When the income tax return is filed within the prescribed time limit, the taxpayer is entitled to interest at the rate of 0.5% per month or part of a month calculated from April 1, 2024, to the date of refund. However, this interest is paid only if the refund amount exceeds 10% of the actual tax liability.
Question: What can taxpayers do if there is a delay in tax refund?
answer- If your income tax refund is getting delayed, then the first thing you should do is to check your status by visiting the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department. This will let you know the current status of processing.
Understand from the graphic below where taxpayers can make inquiries if ITR refund is taking longer than usual.
Question- How can I track my ITR processing status?
answer- If you want to calculate your tax liability correctly and get a refund in case you have paid excess tax, you must file your ITR regularly and within the deadline.
Regularly checking the status of your income tax refund and resolving any issues promptly can save you time. It has become easier than ever for taxpayers to track and manage their tax refunds online.
Understand how to track ITR processing from the graphic given below.
The government mandates filing of tax returns for individuals who earn more than Rs 2.5 lakh annually. If you earn more than this amount annually, you must file your ITR before July 31 every year. Which is the due date for filing income tax returns every year in case of individuals who are not liable for tax audit.
You can easily check the status of your income tax refund. You can see details like assessment year, current status, reason for failure of any refund and mode of payment.
