Filed income-tax returns but not received refund yet? How to check status | Personal Finance

For taxpayers who have filed their income-tax returns (ITR) and are still waiting for a refund, checking the status online can help establish whether the return has been processed.

 

The Income Tax Department provides an online facility through its e-filing portal to check the status of filed returns and refunds.

 

A refund claimed in an ITR does not necessarily mean the amount will be credited immediately. The return has to be processed and the refund, if any, is determined by the tax department. Taxpayers can therefore check the status rather than simply wait for the money to reach their bank account.

 

How to check your income-tax refund status

 

For recent refund claims, taxpayers can check the status through the income-tax e-filing portal. The Income Tax Department’s process is:

  

1.      Visit the income-tax e-filing portal and log in using your PAN and password.

 

2.      Go to e-File on the home page.

 

3.      Select ITR and then View Filed Returns.

 

4.      Select the relevant assessment year.

 

5.      The refund status will be visible against the filed return. Taxpayers can also select View Details to see the return’s lifecycle and related information.

 

The department’s portal can show different outcomes, including a refund being issued, partially adjusted, fully adjusted or having failed. This makes the status useful even when the taxpayer has not received the money in the bank account.

 

What if the refund has failed?

 

A refund being shown as failed does not necessarily mean the taxpayer has lost the money. It could indicate a problem with the bank details or the taxpayer’s account.

 

According to the Income Tax Department, a scheduled refund may fail to be credited for reasons such as:

 

•       The bank account has not been pre-validated.

 

•       The name on the bank account does not match the PAN details.

 

•       The IFSC code is invalid.

 

•       The bank account mentioned in the ITR has been closed.

 

•       The taxpayer’s PAN is inoperative because it is not linked with Aadhaar.

 

Taxpayers should therefore check the specific status and take the corrective action indicated on the portal instead of assuming that the refund claim has been rejected.

 

What about older refund cases?

 

The Income Tax Department has a separate process for refunds whose due amount was determined on or before March 31, 2023. For these cases, taxpayers are directed to the Protean refund-status facility, where they need to enter their PAN and assessment year to check the status.

 

This date is a procedural cut-off for checking the status, rather than an indication that all refunds relating to earlier years should necessarily have been credited by now. Taxpayers with an unresolved older refund can therefore still use the prescribed facility to find out its status.

 

Check the return, not just the bank account

 

A taxpayer waiting for a refund should first check whether the ITR has been processed and whether the refund has been issued, adjusted or failed. The e-filing portal also allows taxpayers to see the lifecycle of their return and any action that may still be pending.

 

This is particularly important because a refund can be affected by issues beyond the processing of the return. For example, the department says a refund may fail if the bank account details are incorrect or the account has not been pre-validated.

 

Taxpayers should also ensure that the ITR has been properly verified. The department’s e-filing system provides information on returns pending for verification and allows taxpayers to take the required action.

 

What taxpayers should do

 

If your refund has not reached your bank account, check these points:

 

•       ITR status: Has the return been processed?

 

•       Refund status: Has the refund been issued, adjusted or failed?

 

•       Bank account: Is the account pre-validated and active?

 

•       PAN-Aadhaar: Is the PAN operative?

 

•       Pending action: Does the portal require you to complete any verification or other action?

 

A delayed refund should not automatically be treated as a rejection. Checking the return and refund status online can help taxpayers identify whether the delay is due to processing, adjustment, a failed bank credit or some action that remains pending.