Here’s what to do if you haven’t received your tax refund yet

The tax department has expedited refunds as some of the experts we spoke to said in some of the cases they have seen refunds come in a week’s time. “We have seen people getting refunds in a week’s time. Something we have not seen in the past. It is happening in case of ITR 1 and ITR. I think it is happening due to the new technologically upgraded platform (CPC 2.0),” said Tarun Kumar, a Delhi-based chartered accountant.

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We reported in November that refunds for this year are getting delayed due the tax department upgrading its platform. Putting the onus on the technical issues, the income tax (I-T) department had tweeted in November that it is 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. “Although they haven’t officially launched the platform yet, I think the faster processing is happening through the new platform, ” said Kumar.

“Yes refunds in case of ITR 1 and ITR 4 are getting processed in around a week’s time of filing of the tax return. This is happening under the “Jhatpat refund scheme” of the tax department,” said Naveen Wadhwa, deputy general manager, Taxmann, a tax and accounting firm.

However, if you have filed your tax return a few months back and haven’t received the refund yet, here is what you can do.

Normally, tax refunds are received within 20-45 days from the day of completion of processing of ITR by the Centralized Processing Centre. “The taxpayer eligible for a refund claim up to ₹5 lakh gets direct bank credit within five to seven business days from the issuance of refund,” said Kapil Rana, founder and chairman, HostBooks Ltd, a tax return filing service provider.

However, refund may be delayed in case the tax department has raised any query. The tax department may raise a query in case there is a mismatch between the tax return filed and the details available with the tax department. Therefore, keep a check on your mails as the tax department may send a query. Respond to it quickly within the timeline for faster processing of return.

The tax refund may also be delayed in case the details of the bank account mentioned are incorrect. The bank account details can be corrected online.

There are two ways of checking the status of your refund. You can check it on the I-T department’s e-filing portal as well as on National Securities Depository Ltd’s (NSDL) website.

You can log into your account on the e-filing portal (www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in) using your Permanent Account Number (PAN) as your user ID and password under the “registered user” section. Once you are logged in, go to the “View e-Filed Returns/Forms” section. Select income tax returns and the relevant assessment year. A new page “My Return” will open and will show the status of your filed return such as ITR filed, verified, ITR processing, issue of refund or status of refund. Under the “status” menu, you can check the mode of payment, refund amount, date of clearance and so on. Alternatively, you can check the refund status on NSDL’s website (https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/refundstatuslogin.html). Enter your PAN and select the relevant assessment year to get the relevant details.