If you paid more tax than your actual tax payable for a fiscal year, you are eligible for an income tax refund after you file the income tax return (ITR) for that fiscal year. However, you will only receive this tax refund after the tax department has processed your ITR and confirmed it via a formal notice.
This notice is being sent to you under Section 143 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. This year returns must be filed for fiscal year 2020 to 21 for which the last extended date is currently December 31, 2021.
Income tax refund is processed by the State Bank of India (
In addition, the bank account must be pre-validated on the new government electronic income tax reporting portal and the PAN must be linked to the bank account.
How to Track Income Tax Refund Status
You can track the tax refund on:
a) The new income tax portal or
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On the new income tax portal
Income tax refund status can be tracked on the government’s new income tax portal by following the steps below:
1. Visit www. Incometax.gov.in and log into your account by entering PAN as the user ID and your password.
2. After logging in, click on the ‘e-file’ option. Under the “e-file” option, select “Income tax returns”, then select “View filed returns”.
3. Check the last filed RTI. For fiscal year 2020-21, the last filed ITR (assuming you have already filed) will be for YY 2021-22. Select the “Show details” option. Once selected, it will display the status of the filed RTI. It will also tell you when the tax refund was issued, the refunded amount, and the discharge date of any refund due for that YY.
On the TIN NSDL website
Another way to track income tax refunds is to check their status on the NSDL website. Keep in mind that on this website, the taxpayer can see the refund status 10 days after the refund has been sent by the appraisal agent to the refund banker.
Follow the steps below to track your tax refund on the TIN NSDL website:
1. Visit: https://tin.tin.nsdl.com/oltas/refundstatuslogin.html
2. Enter the details of your PAN
3. Select the relevant tax year for which you want to check the refund status. For fiscal year 2020-2021, the evaluation year will be 2021-2022.
4. Enter the captcha code and click submit. Depending on the status of your refund, a message will appear on your screen.
Meaning of the status message
The message you receive will depend on the income tax refund status. The displayed message will be one of the following:
The refund is credited:
If the income tax refund is successfully credited to your bank account, this message will appear. It will also show you the last four digits of the bank account, the reference numbers as well as the repayment date.
If the refund is not credited to your bank account, you can:
Write a letter and send it to: State Bank of India at Survey No.21 Opposite Hyderabad Central University, Main Gate,
Refund Returned:
This message will appear when your tax refund is not credited to your account. Reasons may include wrong IFS code or bank account number, the account becoming dormant / inactive due to lack of use.
Adjusted for previous year’s unpaid claim: The income tax department may adjust your income tax refund for the current year against the unpaid claim from the previous tax year, in part or In totality. The tax service has full authority, under section 245, to do so. However, such an action can only be taken after having informed the taxpayer in writing of the proposed action.
Reimbursement of the reissue request
If your income tax refund is not credited to your bank account due to incorrect bank details, then you can request a refund reissue on the new income tax portal. This can only be done if your tax refund credit has failed.
The request can be made by selecting “Reissue Refund” under “Services”. An individual will need to select the ITR for which the income tax refund failed, the bank account, and then verify it to file the request.
