Possible reasons for not receiving your income tax refund and how to deal with it

While most tax refunds get credited to the assessment bank account within a few weeks after ITR is filed, there could be delays in certain situations.

There are chances that taxpayers did not give the correct bank account number or other bank details while filing the income tax return (ITR). So, you should properly check the bank account details before filing ITR.

One of the common reasons for not getting refunds is the need for additional documentation or information. You might have missed mentioning any information while filing ITR.

You may have coded inadequate or fabricated information to avail benefit. To rectify the same, you should provide complete and appropriate information to reduce the chances of rejection or delay in the refund procedure.

The mismatch in TDS claimed in 26AS could be due to the wrong filing of TDS return by the employer or TDS deductor (i.e. bank etc.), and you may need to approach them to correct their TDS return.

The delay could also be at the income tax department level. It might take time to process the request, or a delay could be even at the bank’s end.

If you have filed your income tax return and have not received an income tax refund within a reasonable time, first confirm if you have verified your income tax return online or offline. ITR filing is incomplete and is not processed till it is e-verified. In case the ITR V is not verified, you can still do it by the end of this month.

I-T Department offers five platforms to verify an ITR — net banking, bank ATM, Aadhaar, bank account, and demat account.

Additionally, you should check your email to see if there is any communication from the income tax department seeking a response. It's vital to respond to the email, if any, at the earliest. You can also raise a service request on the e-filing portal.