The income tax department has set its plan to reduce the processing time for tax refunds. An official report indicates that the tax department is considering a reduction from the current 16 days to a 10-day period for processing tax refunds. This proposed timeline is anticipated to take effect within the current fiscal year.
A tax expert said that there are several income tax queries received for expecting refund status and it is a strategic initiative to advance the payout to taxpayers who have a pending refund after e-filing. With a significant number of timely tax filings, the expectations of prompt refund processing are high.
Understanding the Timelines for Tax Refunds
According to an expert, tax refunds are not processed immediately. However, they are issued after thorough verification of the already paid taxes, cross-checked with the records available at the income tax department.
Typically, the timeline ranges from 20 to 45 days for a tax refund to reach taxpayers after filing and successful verification. However, the current fiscal year, 2022-23, has witnessed the use of advanced technology for Income Tax Returns (ITRs).
Consequently, the average processing time has been significantly slashed to just 16 days, as said by a tax expert.
Record-Breaking ITR Filing Till 31st July 2023
Till July 31, 2023, a new milestone has been achieved in terms of ITR submissions. The count of filed ITRs for Assessment Year 2023-24 is more than 6.77 crore, marking a substantial 16.1% increase compared to the total ITRs filed for Assessment Year 2022-23 (5.83 crore) by July 31, 2022.
Online Procedure to Check Tax Refund Status
To check the status of your income tax refund online, follow these steps:
- Visit the official Income Tax India website.
- Login using your User ID (PAN number), password, and captcha code.
- Navigate to ‘Views Returns/Forms.’
- Click on the option ‘Select An Option’ and then click on the option ‘Income tax Returns’ from the dropdown menu.
- Provide the assessment year and submit the information.
- Click on the relevant ITR acknowledgement number to access your refund status.
