Not Got Your Income Tax Refund Yet? Here's How You Can Raise a Re-Issue Request

An Indian citizen who has paid more tax to the Government than his/her tax liability receives an income tax refund from the IT department. This situation arises when the advance tax paid by the individual is more than the actual amount, or the TDS deducted is more than the total tax liability.

Once the tax amount is deposited with the Income Tax department, it processes the tax and calculates the actual amount. If the amount paid is more than what's calculated, the Income Tax department processes a refund and credits it to the taxpayers’ bank account. The Income Tax department sends an intimation notice through an email and SMS regarding the refund. This amount is then credited to the tax payer’s bank account within a fixed time period.

If you have paid your Income Tax on time and have not received a refund in the stipulated time, you might want to know why. In some cases, IT returns get delayed because of issues in IT filing, among other reasons. The reason behind the delay is usually mentioned on the user account on the Income Tax website. The following is what you can do if you have not received your tax refund.

How to Check Tax Refund Status

The first step in case of a delay is to check the refund status. Once you see a rejection message there, you can move ahead with the next steps. If the status says, ‘e-verified successfully’, then you cannot do anything more than posting the issue under the Grievance tab and enquire about it. This message means that your tax hasn’t been processed yet, and your income tax refund status is still the same it was on the day you submitted your returns.

Reasons for Delay

There are a few reasons why you might not have received your refund.

Yet to Process

The first is that your refund has not been processed yet. As already mentioned above, in such a case, your refund status will reflect in your account and most likely will be what it was when you filed and e-verified your taxes.

No Refund

The second reason behind not getting a refund can be the fact that you have no refund to be credited to your account. This means that the income tax department calculated your taxes and found that you have paid the right amount, meaning that no refund needs to be made. Regardless, the status will be updated on your account.

Refund Return

The third and the final reason why you may not have received your refund is that either because your address is wrong and the ITR cheque was returned to the Tax Department, or your bank account details are wrong, and the refund could not be credited to your account. In that case, your account status will be ‘Refund Returned’. In this case, you can put up a Refund Re-Issue Request. The following section will brief you about the steps related to the process.

How to Raise Refund Re-Issue Request?

A return re-issue request can be raised only in case of rejection of e-tax filing. If you are not sure how to put up a request, follow the steps below.

1. Log in to your account on the e-Filing portal of the Indian Government.

2. Click on the ‘My Account’ menu and then find and click on the ‘Service Request’ link.

3. On the Service Request page, choose the request type as ‘New Request’.

4. In the request category, choose ‘refund issue’ and click Submit.

5. You should see your details like PAN number, return type, year of assessment, the reason for failure and other details.

6. After verifying the details, click on submit located under ‘Response’ column. With this, you will see the pre-validated account details and other related details.

7. Select the bank account to which the income tax refund has to be credited and click on ‘Continue’. Now you should see the details like the bank, IFSC code, bank name, etc. that can be cross verified and edited if needed.

8. Proceed by clicking ‘OK’. Now you will be prompted with options for e-verification. Follow the steps mentioned on the website to verify your details and then ‘Submit’.

How to Change the Bank Account Number?

If you would like to change the bank account number to receive your refund in another bank account, you can do that only in the case of refund failure. The process to change the bank account is quite simple. You just have to log in to your account on the Income Tax e-filing website. Here, go to ‘My Account’ and click on ‘Refund Re-issue Request.' Next, select the mode through which you would like to receive your refund. Choose the bank account number and fill up the other related details. Submit once you are done. You will have successfully updated your bank details.

How to Change Personal Address?

If you have asked your refund to be sent through a cheque, it will reach you on your mailing address. If the refund has returned and you would like it to be delivered to a new address, you can change your mailing address while requesting a re-refund. To raise a request, you have to log in to your account again. Click on ‘My Profile Settings’. Enter the new address/email ID and other details and submit. With this, you will change your address for future communication.

Things to Remember

A refund issue re-request cannot be raised on the e-filing website until the reason for income tax refund delay or rejection is reflected on the website. As a result, you will have to wait for your refund status to change before you proceed. You can always raise a grievance issue on the website under the tab that says ‘e-Nivaran’ and inquire about the issue with your account details.

The Indian Government is dedicated to providing fast refunds and quick resolutions to problems related to tax filing and income tax refund. Once you pay your taxes, keep checking for updates on your account, and if you are worried, you can always file a grievance online. The income tax department will consider your request and get back to you at the earliest. There are also a few helpline numbers that you can use to talk to a customer care executive from the department and resolve your issues.