The general timeline for processing the tax refunds is 2-4 months but may vary based on the complexity of the tax returns. The taxpayers with smaller refunds (i.e. below 5- lakhs) get processed faster

If you have filed your income tax return for the Financial Year 2019-20 and haven’t received the refund so far, then you are not alone. A technical upgrade for faster processing of the tax returns could be one of the reasons behind the delay. Many taxpayers, even those who filed their tax return in the month of June or July, recently voiced their concerns over delayed refunds. 

In response to the queries, the I-T Department tweeted “As part of our commitment to provide improved taxpayer services, we are moving to a new, technologically upgraded platform (CPC 2.0) for faster processing of ITRs. ITRs for AY 2020-21 will be processed on CPC 2.0. We thank you for your patience while we migrate to the new system."

ITR Refund Delay:

Despite thousands of concerns from taxpayers, the tweet didn’t mention any timeline on when it will migrate to CPC 2.0 and start processing the I-T returns for AY20-21. So, as of now, all income tax returns filed with the department are processed at the CPC or centralised processing center of the I-T department at Bengaluru.

Kush Vatsaraj of TP Ostwal & Associates LLP said, "CPC 2.0 was announced officially sometime last year. The main reason was to cope with the increasing number of e-filed returns. Generally, refunds are processed quite quickly and smoothly especially for the majority individual taxpayers. But this year with covid, plus lack of funds with the govt, everything is delayed, including processing returns."

Many taxpayers who filed their income tax return for the year FY2019-20 around three-four months back are yet to receive refunds. There seems to be a delay in issuance of refunds. In fact, those who filed their ITRs in June-July are yet to receive refunds. Generally, tax refunds are issued in a period of 2-4 months," he added.

Aarti Raote, Partner, Deloitte said, "The general timeline for processing the tax refunds is 2-4 months but may vary based on the complexity of the tax returns. One observes that simple salaried tax returns where most of the income is reflected in the 26AS get processed swiftly and accurately. The taxpayers with smaller refunds (i.e. below 5- lakhs) get processed faster. However, tax returns where there is gain form property sale reflected, or where treaty relief is claimed, take time to get processed and at times the processing also is not accurate."

Other reasons for delay:
The refund is usually processed within a month’s time of filing the ITR. After the processing of refund is completed by Centralised Processing Centre, the refunds are issued within 20 to 45 days. The refunds for taxpayers who are eligible for refunds up to Rs 5 lakh get direct bank credit within a week of refunds being processed.

However, delay is also likely to occur if the taxpayer makes a mistake in filling the ITR. Refunds are withheld if a mismatch occurs in the ITR and the details available with the I-T department. In case of a query, the taxpayer must respond to it quickly. 

A possible reason for the delay in issuance of income tax refunds is queries raised or clarifications asked by Centralized Processing Centre (CPC) of income tax department while processing the ITR, mismatch in ITR and Form 26AS, assessment proceedings initiated by tax authorities, certain claims made by the taxpayer in ITR which the CPC wants jurisdictional tax officer to verify etc.

In many cases, income tax refunds are not issued or are rejected due to simple mistakes like furnishing incorrect bank account details in the ITR form. In that case, check your bank account details you have mentioned in your ITR.

How you can check Income tax refund status?

You can check the status of your refund from the I-T department’s e-filing portal (www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) and National Securities Depository Ltd (NSDL) website. 

• Use your Permanent Account Number (PAN) and password to log into your registered account on the e-filing portal. 
• Once you have logged into your account, go to ‘View e-filed Returns/Forms’ section.
• Select income tax returns and the relevant assessment year.  After this step, a new page will appear where you can check your ITR return status details such as ITR filed, verified, ITR processing, issue of refund or status. This information is available on the ‘My Return’ section. 
• You can check details such as mode of payment, refund amount, date of clearance under the ‘status’ section. You can check details such as mode of payment, refund amount, date of clearance under the ‘status’ section. 

If you find you have made a mistake in providing your bank account details, you can update it online by logging into the e-filing portal. Once you update the bank account and place a request for reissue of refunds, it will most likely get credited to your account in a few days.

How to raise Income Tax refund Re-issue Request:

Step 1: Logon to ‘e-Filing’ Portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
Step 2: Click on 'My Account' menu and click 'Service Request' link.
Step 3: Select the 'Request Type' as 'New Request' and Select the 'Request Category' as 'Refund Reissue'. 
Step 4: Click 'Submit'.Details such as PAN, Return Type, Assessment Year (A.Y), Acknowledgement No, Communication Reference Number, Reason for Refund Failure and Response are displayed.
Step 5: Click 'Submit' hyperlink located under 'Response'column. All the prevalidated bank accounts with status validated/validated and EVC enabled will be displayed.
Step 6: Select the bank account to which the tax refund is to be credited and click 'Continue'. Details such as Bank Account Number, IFSC, Bank Name and Account Type are displayed for the taxpayer to cross verify the same.

Note that if the taxpayer does not have any Prevalidated bank accounts, then the taxpayer is directed to Prevalidate bank account Screen. In this screen, the taxpayer should enter all relevant details of the bank account where he intends to receive refund and click on 'Prevalidate' button to proceed with the request submission. After this Account is pre-validated by the concerned bank, the bank account will be automatically considered for refund re-issue. This account will now be displayed under Pre-validated bank accounts in the e-Filing portal.

In case the prevalidation of account fails, then the same will be communicated to the taxpayer by CPC. The taxpayer is required to resubmit the request for refund re-issue/prevalidation of bank account.

Step 7: Click 'Ok' in popup if the details are correct and the options for e-Verification appears in the dialogue box. Choose the appropriate mode of e-Verification, Generate and enter Electronic Verification Code (EVC)/Aadhaar OTP as applicable to proceed with the request submission.

If Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) is registered in the profile, generate the signature file by downloading the 'DSC Management Utility' and upload the same to proceed with the submission.

Step 8: A success message will be displayed confirming the Refund Re-issue request submission

To view the status of submitted Refund Re-issue request:

• Logon to ‘e-Filing’ Portal www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in
• Go to the ‘My Account’ > Click ‘Service Request’ > Select the ‘Request Type’ as ‘View Request’ and select the ‘Request Category’ as ‘Refund Reissue’
• Click ‘Submit’