The last date to file ITR was July 31, and over 6.77 crore ITRs were filed till then. Those who have not done yet can do so by paying a penalty. If you have already filed your income tax return for AY 2023-24 and waiting for refund, here’s how you can check the status, and what could be the reason for your ITR refund delay.
How To Check Your ITR Refund Status
Step 1: Visit the E-filing portal.
Step 2: Scroll down the ‘Quick Links’ section till you see ‘Know Your Refund Status’. Click on it.
Step 3: Fill in your PAN number, assessment year (2023-24 for the current year), and mobile number.
Step 4: You will get an OTP. Fill in the OTP in the given place.
Now, it will show the income tax refund status. If there is some issue in your ITR bank details, it will show: ‘No Records Found, please check your E-filing processing status by navigating through e-File - > Income Tax Returns - > View Filed Returns‘.
The tax refund comes within 7 to 120 days of filing the ITR. Though your ITR refund might be delayed as your income tax return might still be under processing, it can also be due to various reasons, including:
Incorrect Information: If taxpayers provide inaccurate details like bank account numbers, names, or addresses, the refund might fail to credit. Details of the PAN and bank account should match.
Filing Errors: Mistakes in the tax return, such as miscalculations or incomplete information.
Outstanding Demand: If a taxpayer owes money to the government, the refund may be used to offset the income tax demand.
If your income tax refund fails, you should take the following steps:
1. Verify information
2. Check the ITR refund status and resubmit the request for the release of the refund
3. Rectify/ amend the return
4. Clear outstanding demand if any.
Apart from this, your bank account should be validated in the income tax portal. “Only a pre-validated bank account can be nominated to receive an income tax refund," according to the income tax department’s website.
“For successful pre-validation, you must have a valid PAN registered with e-Filing, and an active bank account linked with the PAN," it said.
Taxpayers can pre-validate multiple bank accounts and can nominate more than one bank account for the income tax refund, according to the I-T website.
Only saving bank accounts, current accounts, overdraft account, NRO account, and cash credit accounts can be pre-validated for refunds. Loan or PPF accounts cannot be pre-validated for this purpose.
