Income Tax Refund Complaint (Complete Guide)

You may receive a refund from the Income tax department after you file your returns. If your Itr refund is not received, you may complain in the e-file Portal.

After you process your Income Tax Returns, if the tax department determines that you have paid more than your actual tax liability, you owe an income tax refund. You will receive an intimation notice via SMS and email. 

Let us know more if your refund is not received even after your intimation message.

You get to know the amount of refund that will be credited to your bank account along with a refund sequence number from the intimation notice sent to you. You receive an intimation under section 143 (1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Your bank account must be pre-validated on the new income tax portal to receive your tax refund. If you have not received the refund amount, you can raise a refund reissue request.

You can raise the refund reissue request on the new income tax portal if your refund is not received by the income tax department after processing the income tax return. You cannot raise a refund reissue request unless the reason for rejection is reflected.

How many days will the ITR refund take?

If you end up paying more tax than you are liable to pay, you can claim Income Tax Refund. For Instance, if the tax deducted at source (TDS) is more than the tax you are due for, you can claim the refund. ITR refunds are a way to guarantee that you obtain any extra tax that you have paid.

 Once you file your returns and verify, it usually takes 20-45 days to refund your amount. If it is longer, follow up with the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC). You can Track Income tax refunds online.

Why is my refund still processing in 2022?

You should file your returns as early as possible. Because if you file returns early, you will get the refund early. As time passes, there are more forms to process for the income tax department and your refund gets delayed. There are other causes for the delay in processing. Some of the reasons are,

1. e-verify your return and send the ITR-V within 120 days from the date of e-filing.

2. If not, revise your returns and send the new acknowledgment to CPC, Bengaluru.

3. Prevalidate your bank account details in the e-filing portal.

4. Provide your valid IFSC code. Your bank might have undergone a merger and a change in the IFSC code. Update the same and prevalidate your bank details.

How do I complain about a delay in my tax return?

Once your ITR is processed, you will receive the refund within 45 days maximum. You can raise a complaint through the income tax online portal if you didn’t receive a refund even after 45 days. Follow the steps given below for lodging a complaint.

1. Login to the e-filing portal of the Income Tax Department.
2. Enter your details such as;

• Name 
•  PAN no
• Assessment year
• Mobile number
• email id
• Enter your question in the description box
• social media details (Optional).

3. Enter the captcha code and click on submit

Once you submit the query, you will get a ticket number. You will get the ticket number to your registered mail id and your mobile. With these easy steps, you can submit your complaints straight to the grievance redressal mechanism of the IT department. 

What happens if a refund from the income tax department fails to be credited?

 Though you file your returns within the due date, you might not receive a refund yet. One of the common reasons for this is the technical issue in the new portal. 

Although, technical glitches or errors are common factors for the delay in your income tax refund. The other reasons why you haven’t received your tax refund are given below,

Additional Documents:

The Income Tax department may require additional documentation to take the process of your refund request ahead and your income tax refund can get delayed.

You can contact the assessing office by telephone or post to solve this issue. Submit the required documents and get an acknowledgment for the same.

Outstanding tax dues:

If you owe taxes to the IT department, your tax refund request gets rejected. The department will send you a notice intimating your outstanding income tax amount. In such a case, you should recheck all the documents and recalculate the tax liability and refund receivable.

In case you have filled in the correct details in your returns, you can file for a rectification supporting your claim. However, if your details are incorrect, then pay the overdue tax amount within the specified period.

Income Tax Return (ITR) not verified:

Another reason why your refund can be delayed or canceled is that your ITR is not verified. Without verification within the stipulated time, your ITR is invalid.

However, you may request forgiveness for the delay in verification by giving an appropriate reason. You will be able to e-Verify your return after submitting such a request. However, your return is valid only once for approval of a request by the competent Income Tax Authority.

Even after all these possibilities, if you didn’t get a refund, you can raise a refund reissue request.

FAQ- Income Tax Refund Complaint

1. Should I worry if my refund is delayed?

Your refund may be delayed for any of the above-said reasons. If you solve those issues, your refund will be processed. So, the short and simple answer is No, you need not worry about the delay of your refund.

2. Where do I complain about not receiving my tax refund?

You will receive your refund within the stipulated time of 45 days once your ITR is verified and processed.

In case your ITR is already verified, but there is a delay, you can follow up with the Centralized Processing Center (CPC) of the Income-tax Department on 1800 103 4455 or +91-80-46605200 (Monday to Friday between 8 am to 8 pm).

You can also raise service requests in the e-file portal.

3. What if I never received my refund?

If you didn’t receive your refund within 45 days, you raise a refund reissue request through the online portal itself.

It takes 7 to 14 days to process your refund reissue request. If all your documents are appropriate and verified, you will surely receive your refund within 2 or 3 weeks. You will receive your refund from the Income Tax Department for sure in this case.

If your refund reissue request also gets rejected, look into the reasons for that and rectify it. You can re-raise the refund reissue request after correcting your documents. It will be processed and you will receive the refund within 3 weeks.

Bottomline

In gist, you will receive your refund within 45 days of verification of your ITR. If your ITR refund is not received, you can file an Income tax refund complaint on the online portal itself and get your refund back.

You need to prevalidate your bank account for receiving your refund within the suggested time.

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