ITR refund: Process to check status, reasons for delay and other details

As the deadline to file an income tax return (ITR) ended on July 31, taxpayers now must be looking to check the status of their refund. This refund is issued to taxpayers only when the taxes paid are higher than the actual tax liabilities. Taxpayers are required to file ITR in order to get these refunds only.

Assessees can check the status of the tax refund online through the income tax e-filing website — incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in. They can navigate to the 'Status of Tax Refunds' tab. A message will pop up, giving the mode of payment, a reference number, status and date of refund.

They can also check it on the e-governance website of the National Securities Depository Limited (NSDL) - tin.tin.nsdl.com.

Processed: This is the status when the return is successfully processed.

Submitted and pending for e-verification/verification: This is the status when the taxpayer has filed the ITR but not e-verified it, or the duly signed ITR-V has not been received at CPC yet.

Successfully e-verified/verified: This is the status when the taxpayer has submitted and duly e-verified/verified the return, but the return has not been processed yet.

Defective: This is the status where the department notices some defect in the filed return due to a lack of any essential information as required under law, or some inconsistencies.

Case transferred to assessing officer (AO): This is the status when the CPC has transferred the ITR to jurisdictional AO.

While a majority of tax refunds get credited to the bank account of assesses within a few weeks after ITR is filed, there could be a delay under certain situations.

Incorrect bank account details: There are chances that taxpayers did not give the correct bank account number or other bank details while filing the ITR.

Need for additional documentation/information: One of the common reasons for not getting refunds is the need for additional documentation or information. Taxpayers might have missed mentioning any information while filing ITR.

Fabricated information: There are chances that taxpayers have coded inadequate or fabricated information to avail benefit.

Mismatch in the TDS/TCS claimed: The mismatch in TDS claimed in 26AS could be due to the wrong filing of TDS return by the employer or TDS deductor.

Refund request under process: The delay could also be at the income tax department level. It might be taking time to process the request or a delay could possibly be even at the bank’s end.

Taxpayers should check their email to see if there is any communication from the income tax department, seeking a response. It's vital to respond to the email, if any, at the earliest. They can also raise a service request on the e-filing portal.