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Showing posts with label Income Tax Refund Status. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Income Tax Refund Status. Show all posts

First Priority to Issue of IT Refunds - CBDT

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes

New Delhi, 13th February, 2017.

Press Release

Expeditious Issue of Refunds is a High Priority for the Central Board of Direct Taxes

The Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) of the Income Tax Department (ITD) has already processed over 4.19 crore Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and issued over 1.62 crore refunds during the current financial year up to 10th February, 2017. The amount of refunds issued at Rs.1.42 Lakh Crore is 41.5% higher than the corresponding period last year.

As a result of emphasis on expeditious issue of refunds, 92% of all Income Tax returns were processed within 60 days demonstrating CBDT’s commitment to faster and more efficient taxpayer service. Of the refunds issued, 92% are below Rs.50,000 due to the high priority given to expeditious issue of refunds to small taxpayers. Only 2% of refunds less than Rs. 50,000 are remaining to be issued. Majority of these cases relate to recently filed ITRs or where the taxpayer’s response to the Department is awaited.

Taxpayers reposed faith in CBDT’s e-governance initiatives by filing electronically a whopping 4.01 Cr ITRs till 10th February 2017 representing an increase of 20% over the previous year. Also, more than 60 lakh other online forms were filed with an increase of nearly 41% compared to the previous year.

Taxpayers are advised to verify and update their email address and mobile number on the e-filing website to receive electronic communication. CBDT is committed to ensuring best possible taxpayer services through its e-governance programs and increasing the coverage and scope of electronic filing and processing of various forms and applications.

(Meenakshi J Goswami)
Commissioner of Income Tax
(Media & Technical Policy)
Official Spokesperson, CBDT.

Complete Procedure to Send Request for Re-Issue Income Tax Refund.

Many Taxpayers did not know how to get Income Tax Refund in case of Income Tax Refund Failure by any reason from Income Tax Department side.  The 7 simple steps to request for Income Tax Refund Re-issue, please follow the below steps :

STEP - 1 :
Login to e-Filing website with User ID, Password, Date of Birth/ Date of Incorporation and Captcha.

STEP - 2 :
Go to My Account and click on "Refund Re-issue Request".

STEP - 3 :
Enter PAN, Assessment Year, CPC Communication Reference Number, Refund Sequence Number (available on the 143(1) Intimation order and Click on 'Validate' button. 

STEP - 4 :
After validation, taxpayer can select the mode of Refund Reissue from the options.

The two modes of Refund Reissue are:
  • ECS
  • By Paper (Cheque)

STEP - 5 :
Taxpayer can select to update the Bank Account Details from the option under the field 'Do you want to update Bank Account details? 

'If the taxpayer selects 'Yes', taxpayer has to enter details in the additional fields i.e. Bank Account number, Type of Account and IFSC code/ MICR code.

STEP - 6 :
Taxpayer can select the address to which the cheque has to be sent under the dropdown 'Category'.
  • If the taxpayer selects 'ITR Address', address provided in the ITR uploaded is used.
  • If the taxpayer selects 'PAN Address', address provided in the PAN is used.
  • If the taxpayer selects 'New Address', taxpayer has to enter details in the additional fields displayed.

STEP - 7 :
Taxpayer clicks on "Submit" to validate the details. 

On successful validation, Taxpayer will get the message success message .

This ends the process of refund re-issue by Taxpayer.

CBDT Extends Time Limit for Processing of Returns Having Refund Claim.

CBDT extends time-limit for processing of returns having legitimate refund claim

Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes

North Block, New Delhi, th 25th of October, 2016

Order under section 119 of Income Tax Act, 1961

Subject:  Issue of Intimation under section 143 (1) of Income Tax Act, 1961 beyond the prescribed time in non-scrutiny cases-reg.-

It has come to notice that some returns of income having "claim of refund" pertaing to Assessment Years 2014-2015, 2013-2014 and 2012-2013 were not processed within the time-frame prescribed under sub-section (1) of section 143 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 ("Act"). Consequently, intimation of "amount of refund due" which is issued to the taxpayer after processing the income-tax return could not be sent.  This has led to a situation where the concerned taxpayer is unable to get his legitimate refund in accordance with provisions of the Act, although the delay is not attributable to him.

2.  On consideration of the matter, in instances where a valid return-of-income having "claim of refund" for Assessment years 2014-2015. 2013-2014 and 2012-2013 was failed either under section 139 or 142 (1) of the Act and in which the time for sending intimation under sub-section (1) of section 143 has lapsed, the Central Board of Direct Taxes ("CBDT"), by virtue of its powers under section 119 ofthe Act, hereby relaxes the time-frame prescribed in second proviso to sub-section (1) of section 143 and directs that such returns-of-income shall now be processed by 31.03.2017.  Further, intimation of processing the consequential refund, if any, shall be issued expeditiously as per the prevailing norms and existing provisions of the Act.

3.  However, the above relaxation shall not be application to those cases where the said return of income was not processed in view of provisions of sub-section (1D) of section 143 of the Act.  Further, this relaxation shall not be applicable to those cases where either demand is shown as payable in the return of income or is likey to so arise after processing the return of income.

4.  The contents of this order may be brought to the notice of all for necessary compliance.

(Rohit Garg)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

(F.No.225/220/2016-ITA.II)

Copy to:
1. Chairperson (CBDT) and all Members of CBDT
2. All Pr. CCsIT/DsGIT
3. Pr.DGIT(Systems) for further necessary action in the matter
4. ADG(Systems)-4 with request for uploading on official website in public domain
5.  All Officers and Technical Sections of CBDT
6.  ADG(PR,PP & OL) with request to post a tweet on official handle of the Department
7. ITCC Division of CBDT
8. Database Cell for uploading on IrS Officers website
9. Guard File

(Rohit Garg)
Deputy Secretary to the Government of India

CBDT releases Income Tax Return Statistics for Asstt. Years 2013-14 & 2014-15

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had proactively released in April, 2016 time-series data relating to direct tax collections, number of taxpayers, cost of collection, etc., data of number of PAN allotted and data relating to distribution of income and tax payable in the returns for AY 2012-13.


In continuation of the efforts to place more and more information in public domain, CBDT has further released data relating to distribution of income and tax payable in respect of returns filed for Assessment Years 2013-14 and 2014-15. With this release, detailed income-tax data for three recent assessment years have become available in public domain enabling researchers, scholars, policy makers, students and all other stakeholders to make a better analysis of the trends in incomes and tax payments.


Good News for Taxpayee, who are waiting for Income Tax Refund.

As per Office Memorandum issued by CBDT, the Government has directed to Income Tax Officials to issue refunds in case where outstanding arrears are upto Rs. 5000/- without any adjustment for Asstt. Year 2013-14 and 2014-15.

The Government decided to provide relief to the small taxpayers for refunds by  reduce grievances and enhance taxpayer satisfaction. The Central Board of Direct Taxes had issued instructions to the Central Processing Centre (CPC), Bengaluru and the field officers in December regarding refunds in cases where arrears demand upto Rs. 5000/- may be issued without any adjustment of outstanding arrears under section 245 of the Act during Fin. Year 2015-16.

Similarly, the non-CASS cases for these assessment years where the refund amount is more than Rs. 5000/- but the outstanding arrears is Rs. 5000/- or less may also be processed for issue of refund without any adjustment under section 245.

Complete Procedure for Refund/Demand Status, Request for Refund Re-issue.

After making any payments either Salary or Interest TDS is required to be deducted as per Income Tax from Deductee.  If the TDS Deducted Amount is excess than TAX liability amount in this conduction, the excess paid TDS returned to Taxpayee after TAX Assessment by Income Tax Department.  But, some times the refund of TDS or excess paid tax unable to get taxpayee due to following reasons :
  1. Expired Cheque
  2. Incorrect A/C No
  3. House Locked
  4. Party Shifted
  5. No such Address
  6. No such person
  7. Incorrect MICR code/unavailable
  8. Account has been closed
  9. Account Description incorrect
  10. Others
  11. Mendatory fields missing (Account Number/Account Name/Account type/Address/City/State/Pincode)
  12. Incorrect A/c Number Length
  13. Invalid A/c. No.
  14. Invalid A/c. No. (Between to special characters there shoube be atleast one alphabet/number)
  15. Invalid A/c Number (First character in A/c. No. should be an alphabet/number only.)
  16. Invalid A/c. No. (Last Character in A/c. No. should be a number.)
  17. Invalid A/C Number (Numeric string between alphabets or special characters cannot be all zeros)
  18. Invalid character in A/c. Number
  19. Address not valid (Invalid Characters or too long Address)
  20. Invalid character in Account Name or Name too short
  21. No numeric digit in Account Number
  22. Invalid IFSC Code
  23. Name mismatch with Bank Account Hoder

View Refund/ Demand Status
To view Refund/ Demand Status, please follow the below steps:

Step - 1 :    Login to e-Filing website with User ID, Password, Date of Birth / Date of Incorporation and Captcha.
Step - 2 :    Go to My Account and click on "Refund/Demand Status".
Step - 3 :    Below details would be displayed.
              * Assessment Year
              * Status
              * Reason (For Refund Failure if any)
              * Mode of Payment is displayed.

How to Request for Refund Re-issue (in case of refund failure)
To request for Refund Re-issue, please follow the below steps:

Step - 1 :    Login to e-Filing website with User ID, Password, Date of Birth/ Date of Incorporation and Captcha.
Step - 2 :    Go to My Account and click on "Refund Re-issue Request".
Step - 3 :    Enter PAN, Assessment Year, CPC Communication Reference              
                   Number, Refund Sequence Number (available on the 143(1) Intimation order and Click on 'Validate' button.
Step - 4 :    After validation, taxpayer can select the mode of Refund Reissue from the options.
              The two modes of Refund Reissue are:
              * ECS
              * By Paper (Cheque)
Step - 5 :    Taxpayer can select to update the Bank Account Details from the option under the field 'Do you want to update Bank Account details?
              'If the taxpayer selects 'Yes', taxpayer has to enter details in the additional fields i.e. Bank Account number, Type of Account and IFSC code/ MICR code.
Step - 6 :    Taxpayer can select the address to which the cheque has to be sent under the dropdown 'Category'.
              If the taxpayer selects 'ITR Address', address provided in the ITR uploaded is used.
              If the taxpayer selects 'PAN Address', address provided in the PAN is used.
              If the taxpayer selects 'New Address', taxpayer has to enter details in the additional fields displayed.
Step - 7 :    Taxpayer clicks on "Submit" to validate the details.
              On successful validation, Taxpayer will get the message success message .

To View Complete Procedure (Click Here)
To Download Complete Procedure (Click Here)

How to tackle with Income Tax Notices ?

Many of my family members & friends are receiving notices from Income tax department; usually any communication from the Income Tax department, especially receiving a notice from them, can send shivers down anyone's spine. A majority of the notices is sent in the normal course of processing returns& might be for routine enquiry or a request for simple clarification, so don’t be panic.

What to do when you receive an Income Tax notice?

  1. Don’t Ignore: Handle the situation carefully and sincerely, or you may end up paying a penalty of up to Rs 10,000 along with the tax payment.
  2. Back to basics: Check the whether the notice is really meant for you by checking basic things like PAN, Name, Assessment year it related to issuing officer, signature, address with details of ward and circle number. Verify these details to avoid being cheated. To see details go to E filling website see know your AO
  3. Preserve the envelope: If the notice comes by snail mail, preserve the envelope. It serves as proof of the dates on which it was posted and received.
  4. DIN: If the notice is delivered online, then check the Document Identification Number.
  5. Identify the reason behind the notice: By normal reading one can easily indentifies the reason behind notice. Reasons could be a simple mismatch in TDS or inconsistency in your returns, or some serious concerns like income concealment. It can also be a survey or scrutiny of accounts.
  6. Validity: Check the validity of the notice and the timely issuance. Also check the section under which the notice has been issued. For example: A notice under Section 143(3) for scrutiny assessment has to be served within six months of the end of the financial year in which the return was filed. If served later than this period, it will be considered invalid.
  7. Gather the documents: Start collecting the documents that the department has requested via the notice. Documents needed can vary depending on the gravity of the notice, usually scrutiny notice may ask for several documents, including bank statements, pay-slips, rent receipts and brokerage statements. While it may not be possible to put all this together in the short time.
  8. Letter: Prepare a covering letter along with the set of documents.
  9. Acknowledgement: Prepare two set of all the documents required, along with a copy of the covering letter. Get your copy stamped to maintain personal records, and as a proof of submission of the documents thereby complying with the notice.
  10. Reply on time: Always respond to the notice on time even if you are unable to collect the required documents. You can even ask for some time to gather all the documents. Timely response will help establish that you are honest, and cooperating with the law.
  11. CA help : If the notice is simply about a factual matter, such as an arithmetical error, TDS mismatch or deduction amount, a taxpayer should respond on his own, Only when it is a serious issue, such as a notice for scrutiny or reassessment under Section 148, should one get a professional to respond. But A chartered accountant will be better equipped to deal with the situation and provide apt responses.
Interpreting notices under different sections of income tax for individuals
Sec 131(1A): Assessing officer has reason to suspect that income has been concealed.
  • Enforcing the attendance of any person, including any officers of a banking company and examining him on oath and completing the production of books of accounts and documents.
  • Failure to comply with the summons issued under Section 131(1) has been made punishable with a penalty of Rs 10,000 for each default under Section 272A.
Sec 133(A) : For survey or scrutiny of accounts
Sec 139(9) : For filing defective return
Sec 142    : For not filing the income tax return or for the scrutiny of a documents & accounts in support of the return filed by the tax payer
Sec 143(1) : For adjustment or additional tax demand if an error or incorrect information is detected in the return filed by the tax payer.
Sec 143(2) : For scrutiny assesement after detailed inquiry by assessing officer
Sec 148    : For reassessment if the officer believes some income has escaped assessment.
Sec 156    : For dues(tax, interest,penalty,fine or any other sum) payable by the assessee)
Sec 245    : For adjustment of refund with any demand due

Reasons behind getting Notice :
Return not filed or delayed: Employer deducted tax from you salary. However, Employee did not file the return. In such a case, the tax department will send a notice asking employee to file the return. The notice has to be responded to within the given time. Otherwise, employee may be penalized. Such a notice can be sent for any of the previous six assessment years. In case of delayed filing, the department can levy a penalty of Rs 5,000 a year. However, the penalty is not mandatory, and depends upon the discretion of the assessing officer. However, if any tax is due, the department charges 1% interest per month from the due date.

Mismatch in tax credit: Tax deducted at source, or TDS, figure in your Form 16 may be different from the actual tax credit mentioned in Form 26 AS, a document issued by the income tax department that has all your tax-related information such as tax deducted, refund, etc, against your permanent account number (PAN). In case there is mismatch between the two, the department goes by the figure in Form 26 AS.

The mismatch could be because either the employer has not deposited the tax deducted from your salary with the department or has credited it in someone else's account. In such a case, you have to file a rectified return.

If the employer has not paid the TDS to the tax department, point this out to him. In case the tax has being credited to someone else's account, furnish the TDS certificate to the assessing officer for making the necessary changes.

Investments in the name of spouse
Many individuals resort to purchasing assets in the name of their spouse, children or other close family members in the hope of evading taxes. Assets in this case refer to any kind of investment like land, buildings, fixed deposits, mutual funds, shares, debentures etc.

Let's say x bought mutual funds in your wife¡¦s name. As per section 64 of the Income Tax Act, any income x generate out of these mutual funds is still considered x income and x will be taxed for it.

You need to ensure that you declare such income at the time of filing your return, else you will attract attention from the taxman and receive a notice for the same.

High Value Transactions
High value transactions need to be updated to the Income Tax department by the entity with which you carry out such a transaction. This is in order to ensure taxes are levied as required on each of these transactions in a timely manner. Failure to do so is an invitation for a tax notice.

What qualifies as a high value transaction?
  • Cash deposits in a bank worth Rs 10 lakh or more in a year
  • Credit card purchases of Rs 2 lakh or more
  • Mutual fund investments for Rs 2 lakh or more
  • Purchase of bonds and debentures worth Rs 5 lakh or more in a year
  • Sale or purchase of property worth Rs 30 lakh or more
Non-disclosure of assets for wealth tax
If you own assets whose net value is over Rs.30 Lakhs, you are liable to pay wealth tax at the rate of 1% of the amount that is above the Rs.30 Lakhs limit. If you do disclose such assets that you own or do not pay taxes on them, there is a good chance that you might receive an IT notice.

Assets can include anything from land, second homes, cars, yachts, gold jewellery, antiques, art etc. If you are unsure about the exact value of the assets you own, you can approach government approved valuers for this purpose.

Random Scrutiny
To enforce tax compliance, the IT department has started randomly scrutinizing returns under section 143 (3). If you receive such a scrutiny notice, don¡¦t panic. Just follow these simple steps:
  1. Check the validity of the notice as well as the duration within which you have to respond to the Assessing Officer. Usually, a scrutiny notice is served to the assessee within a period of 6 months from the end of the financial year. Very rarely, notices related to older cases are also sent under section 148, if the Assessing Officer finds genuine reason to do so.
  2. Make multiple copies of the notice received
  3. Submit documents requested along with a cover letter listing all the documents to the Assessing Officer
  4. Request for an acknowledged copy of the cover letter from the Assessing Officer for your own records
  5. If the notice is regarding your old dues, they can be adjusted against any pending refund claims made by you for a current year.
What Should One do in a Scrutiny Proceeding ?
 
When you receive notice from Income tax department , Do this things
  1. Ensure that all related documents to the assessment proceeding with you.Ex Form 16, 26AS, Previous year ITRs, Proofs for deductions, Wealth tax file, bank accounts, etc… details regarding all monetary transaction
  2. For salaried person, keep your Form 16 issued by your employer.
  3. All your bank statements .
  4. Reasons for high amount transactions.
  5. Documents, details asked in notice.
  6. If you have received any loan or gift, get a certificate from such person with his complete address on the loan certificate.
  7. On hearing date ,you must appear either yourself or through any Chartered Accountant or tax practitioner before the Assessing Officer on the date of hearing.
  8. Keep calm & argue politely with A.O. by quoting relevant sections
  9. Take acknowledgment for copies submitted
  10. Write down relevant points.

5 Simple Steps to file 6 Asstt. Years Income Tax Returen for Claim TDS Refund.

This post is posted by Alok Patnia on 18th June, 2015 on www.taxmantra.com.  The details information about Income Tax Return can be filed for 6 Assessment Year to Claim TDS Refund is as under:

Missed out to claim refund for past years? We all are aware that for last 2 years, we have options to file Income Tax Return and claim our refund.    images (3)However, if claim is for beyond 2 years then what option we have? Forget such refund? The answer is NO. As we have already mentioned in our article, Claim refund even if there is delay in filing refund claim, with the coming of the Circular No. 9/2015, we can claim refund by filing Income Tax Return for last 6 Assessment Years. So, claiming refund beyond last 2 years is no more a nightmare. Thus, Income Tax Return can be filed for 6 Assessment Years to Claim TDS Refund.

Income Tax Department in the said circular has guided on how an assessee who has failed to file income tax return can claim refund. Now, make an application and get refund due up to last 6 Assessment years. For this, just follow the following simple steps and get your refund for last 6 AY:

STEP ONE: FILE AN APPLICATION
In case the amount is less than Rs 10 Lakhs for any one assessment year the application shall be made to the Pr.CsIT/CIT. CIT will review the application & communicate acceptance/rejection with reason of such applications/claims. In case the amount is more than Rs 10 Lakhs the application to be made to Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. In case the amount is more than Rs 50 Lakhs then to CBDT.

STEP TWO: CONDONATION UPTO 6 YEARS
Condonation Application can be file up to six previous years. It is to be noted that even loss can be claimed for carry forward. The officer will ensure that the income/loss declared and /or refund claimed is correct and genuine and also that the case is of genuine hardship on merits.

STEP THREE: CLEARANCE FROM AUTHORITIES
The power of accepting or rejecting the Condonation Application of Delay shall be subject to the condition that the Income of assessee is not assessable in the hands of other person under any provision of Income Tax Act. Further, no Interest shall be admissible on belated claim of refund and the refund has arisen due to excess payment of Advance Tax or Self-Assessment Tax or due to excess deduction of TDS.

STEP FOUR: SUPPLEMENTARY CLAIMS
A belated application for supplementary claim of refund (claim of additional amount of refund after completion of assessment for the same year) can be admitted for condonation provided other conditions as referred above are fulfilled.

STEP FIVE: CUMULATIVE INTEREST BEYOND SIX YEARS
In the case of 8% Savings (Taxable) Bonds, 2003 issued by Government of India opting for scheme of cumulative interest on maturity but has accounted interest earned on mercantile basis and the intermediary bank at the time of maturity has deducted tax at source on the entire amount of interest paid without apportioning the accrued interest/TDS, over various financial years involved, the time limit of six years for making such refund claims will not be applicable.

Claiming refund is thus, now possible for last 6 Assessment Years against 2 years. Once an application is filed to the appropriate authority and gets it approved then one can file its Income Tax Return to get your refund which was once not possible.

Source: www.taxmantra.com by Alok Patnia

How to Request re-issue of Income tax Refund? Detailed Procedure.

Income Tax Refund cheque issued by CPC Bangalore Returned undelivered or not been credited due to wrong account info, expired cheque etc?

Now days Assessee who file their Income tax Return online gets their refund cheque issued by CPC Bangalore. Refunds are issued by two modes:-
  1. By crediting the refund amount in Assessee’s bank account if the Assessee has correctly mentioned his bank details in Income tax Return Filed by him.
  2. By sending Income Tax Refund Cheque if Assessee failed to submit or correctly mention his bank account details in Income tax Return filed by him.
In case of Physical cheques there may be chances that after filing of Income tax Return Assessee has moved to new address and his Income tax Refund cheque issued by CPC Bangalore returned back for non-delivery.  There may also be a chance that although address is not changed but Assessee could not receive the refund order as no one was there on the day when cheque was delivered or Refund cheque returned undelivered by the postal department as the house was locked.

Further in case Assessee has applied for ECS but has entered wrong account details or account of which details been entered is closed and ECS to such account been failed.

In such cases one question arises what Assessee should do to request reissue of Refund cheque or how to request Credit of that account in his bank account and how to intimate the change in address?

Procedure to apply for refund – reissue for refund related to AY 2009-10 and succeeding years
  • Logon on to https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/ with your user ID and Password.
  • Go to MY Account →Refund Reissue Request
  • Screen below appears, you need to enter the necessary details and click on submit button.
REFUND REISSUE SCREEN


Please refer to the pictorial representation shown below; indicating the CPC reference number and refund sequence number as can be seen in the Order u/s 143(1)/154, Income Tax Act, 1961.
Intimation Pictorial Representation:

Assessee has two options to apply Refund Reissue- ECS or Paper.

ECS Mode: Select mode of Refund reissue, Bank Account Details – Can be changed, if required, category and click submit.

Paper Mode: If assessee applies refund reissue through Paper mode. This option envisages the assessee to get refund through cheque to the address selected by the assessee.

 

Refund Reissue related to AY 2008-09 to be applied through response letter to CPC.

Paper return which were processed at CPC, refund reissue can be applied only through sending response directly to CPC.
  • please note that from AY 2013-14 onwards, Assessee need enter IFSC code instead of MICR code for
  • Find below the table with reasons for refund failure at CPC and the resolution thereof.
Procedure to apply for refund – reissue for refund related to A.Y. 2008-09
Assessee needs to download the address/bank-details modification form (Response Sheet) from the website of Income Tax department, fill the same and after that he needs to send the same by ORDINARY or SPEED POST along with cancelled cheque and other supporting documents to:
“Income Tax Department – CPC, Post Bag No – 1, Electronic City Post Office, Bangalore – 560100, Karnataka”

To Download the need to take Response Sheet Assessee Following steps:-
  1. Visit https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/portal/index.do 
  2. Enter login details.
  3. after login go to sub menu ‘Response Sheet for Refund Failure Status’ under the main menu ‘My Account’ (Please note I have not found the link in Menu which was there earlier)
  4. Download the response sheet.
  5. It is to be noted if there is any change in address of the Assessee needs to get the same updated with PAN master database by filing Form No. 49Afor correction in PAN Data.

Refund and Return of TDS.

Refund of TDS :
In case of excess deduction of tax at source, claim of refund of such excess TDS can be made by the deductor. The excess amount is refundable as per procedure laid down for refund of TDS vide Circular No.2/2011 dt. 27.4.11 (which supersedes the earlier circular no.285 dt 21.10.1980 on this subject).  The difference between the actual payment made by the deductor and the tax deductible at source, will be treated as the excess payment made.

In case such excess payment is discovered by the deductor during the financial year concerned, the present system permits credit of the excess payment in the quarterly statement of TDS of the next quarter during the financial year.

In case, the deduction of such excess amount is made beyond the financial year concerned, such claim can be made to the Assessing Officer (TDS) concerned. However, no claim of refund can be made after two years from the end of financial year in which tax was deductible at source. However, for refund claims pertaining to the period upto March 31, 2009 may be submitted to the assessing officer (TDS) upto 31.3.2012.

However, to avoid double claim of TDS by the deductor as well as by the deductee, the following safeguards must be exercised by the Assessing Officer concerned:
The applicant deductor shall establish before the Assessing Officer that:

  • it is case of genuine error and that the error had occurred inadvertently;
  • that the TDS certificate for the refund amount requested has not been issued to the deductee(s); and
  • that the credit for the excess amount has not been claimed by the deductee(s) in the return of income or the deductee(s) undertakes not to claim in excess of Rupees One Lakh and Rupees Ten Lakh respectively.

After meeting any existing tax liability of the deductor, the balance amount may be refunded to the deductor.

In view of provisions of section 200A of the Income-tax Act prescribing processing of statement of TDS and issue of refund with effect from 1-4-2010, this circular will be applicable for claim of refunds for the period upto 31-3-2010.

Return of TDS :
A return of TDS is a comprehensive statement containing details of salary paid and taxes deducted thereon from the employees along with other prescribed details. For deductions made prior to 01.04.2005 every deductor was required as per the provisions of Section 206 (read with Rule 36A and 37) to prepare and deliver an annual return, of tax deducted at source in form no. 24. Such a return was to be prepared and signed by the following - (a) the DDO or the prescribed officer in case of a government office; (b) the principal officer in the case of every company; (c) the managing partner/ partners in the case of a firm; (d) managing trustee in the case of trust; (e) Karta in the case of HUF; (f) prescribed person in the case of a local authority/public body/association. However w.e.f. 01.04.2006 there is no requirement to file annual returns and instead Quarterly statements of T.D.S. are to be submitted in form 24Q by the deductors specified above. The quarterly statement of the last quarter in form 24Q as amended by notification no. 119 dated 12.05.2006, S.O. 704(E), shall be treated as annual return of T.D.S.

All about Income Tax Refunds - FAQs

From which date the refund banker has been implemented?
The refund banker has been implemented from January 24, 2007.

In which cities the refund banker has been implemented ?
The refund banker facility is operational for non-corporate taxpayers assessed all over India.

Who will send the refund to me?
The State Bank of India (SBI) is the refund banker to the Income Tax Department (ITD). The Cash Management Product department of SBI (CMP SBI) processes the refunds under the refund banker scheme. Details of refunds are forwarded to CMP SBI by the ITD. CMP SBI processes the refunds and sends the refund intimation to the taxpayer.

How will the refund be sent to me?
Refunds are generated in two modes i.e., ECS and paper . If the taxpayer has selected mode of refund as ECS (direct credit in the bank account of the taxpayer) at the time of submission of income return the taxpayer’s bank A/c (at least 10 digits ) and MICR code of bank branch and communication address are mandatory .

For taxpayers who have not opted for ECS refund will be disbursed by cheque or demand draft.

For generation of refund through paper cheque bank account no, correct address is mandatory.

How can I know the status of my refund?
The taxpayer can track the status of its refund from the Departmental Website www.incometaxindia.gov.in / NSDL-TIN website www.tin-nsdl.com by clicking on “Status of Tax Refunds”.

Refund status can be tracked by entering the PAN and Assessment Year for which refund is to be tracked.

Status of the refund can also be tracked by contacting the help desk of SBI's at toll free number: 18004259760 or email at: - .

If I have shifted my residence whom should I contact for updating my correspondence address for receipt of refund?
The tax payer should contact its Assessing Officer and inform about the change in the correspondence address.

If my bank account has been closed how will I get refund credit into the account?
In case of change or updation in the bank account number the taxpayer should provide the correct account number along with the MICR code where credit is to be effected to the Assessing Officer.

Whom do I contact if the refund dispatched has not been received?
The tax payer can contact its local post office with the speed post ref no displayed at the NSDL-TIN website

I have received the physical ECS refund advice and status of refund is “paid” on website of refund status track but my account has not been credited. Whom do I contact?
In case credit is not effected in the taxpayer account through ECS but the refund advice has been received by the taxpayer AND the status shown is “paid”- in that case, the tax payer should contact his bank or SBI. You should contact SBI at the following address.

Cash Management Product (CMP)
State Bank of India
SBIFAST
31, Mahal Industrial Estate
Off Mahakali Caves Road
Andheri (East)
Mumbai - 400 093.
Phone Number: 18004259760 or email at 

I have neither received the physical ECS refund advice and status of refund is “unpaid” on website track. Whom do I contact?
The tax payer should provide the correct account number and MICR code to concerned Assessing officer, where credit is to be effected. The Assessing Officer will inform SBI to send a fresh refund cheque to the taxpayer.

If the date of encashing the refund cheque expires, whom should I contact?
The tax payer should contact their Assessing Officer as well as CMP SBI at the below address:

Cash Management Product (CMP)
State Bank of India
SBIFAST
31, Mahal Industrial Estate
Off Mahakali Caves Road
Andheri (East)
Mumbai - 400 093.
Phone Number: 18004259760 or email at 

How do I rectify any mistakes in the name, assessment year, PAN, account number printed on the refund cheque delivered to me?
In case of any mistakes on the refund cheque delivered to you, the following should be done:

  1. Send the original refund cheque to CMP, State Bank of India at SBIFAST 31, Mahal Industrial Estate, Off Mahakali Caves Road, Andheri East, Mumbai - 400 093, Phone Number: 18004259760, along with a letter informing the mistakes on the refund cheque.
  2. Send a copy of the letter along with a copy of the refund cheque to your Assessing Officer.
  3. Retain a copy of the letter and refund cheque with you.

If somebody else’s refund cheque / advice is delivered to me what should I do?
You should contact SBI at the following address and return the refund cheque / advice.

Cash Management Product
State Bank of India
SBIFAST
31, Mahal Industrial Estate,
Off Mahakali Caves Road,
Andheri (East)
Mumbai - 400 093
Phone Number: 18004259760 or email at 

Is there any method available to know whether the refund record has been generated for the taxpayer?
The taxpayer can track the status of its refund from the NSDL-TIN website www.tin-nsdl.com by clicking on “Status of Tax Refunds”.

Refund status can be tracked by entering the PAN and Assessment Year for which refund is to be tracked.

Status of the refund can also be tracked by contacting the help desk of SBI at 080-26599760.

Whom do I contact for queries related to payment of refund which has been processed by ITD?
For any payment related query the taxpayer should contact SBI at 18004259760 or email at .

Whom should I contact for refund related queries?
For any refund related query the tax payer should contact Aaykar Sampark Kendra at 0124 2438000 or email at .

For refund related query/ or any modification in refund record relating to Return processed at CPC Bangalore, the CPC may be contacted by the taxpayer on 1-8004252229 or 080-43456700.

CBDT speeds up refund claims of taxpayers of J&K - Press Release

CBDT has issued a press released on 15thth October, 2014 regarding immediate issue of Income Tax Refund claim to taxpayers of J & K due to devastation caused by floods u/s. 139 of Income Tax Act, 1961.

In view of the large devastation caused by the recent floods in Jammu & Kashmir, the Income tax Department is taking necessary steps to process expeditiously the refund claims of the taxpayers residing in the state of Jammu & Kashmir who have submitted their returns through electronic mode. Instances have come to notice where the refund cheques could not be delivered at the address indicated by the taxpayers in their returns due to dislocation caused by floods.

Non-Corporate taxpayers of Jammu and Kashmir who desire to provide a new address for delivery of their refund cheques, may log in to the e-filing site https://incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, and update their address through the path Profile Setting -> My Profile-> Address . Alternatively, the taxpayers can contact the helpdesk at Centralised Processing Centre (CPC), Bangalore at 1800 425 2229 and provide the updated address.


Refund of TDS couldn’t be denied evenif mismatch Form 26AS when tax was deducted by Govt. Dept.

Refund claim made by deductee could not be denied by Assessing Officer on ground that there was mis-match between details furnished by deductee and Form 26AS without verifying whether or not deductor had made payment of TDS in government account.

In this regard CBDT has issued an important instruction to all IT Officers regarding refund of Income Tax as deposited by Taxpayee to Income Tax Department without matching 26AS Statement or PAN Ledger with Refundee's PAN.  In this regard following instruction is clarify mentioned that TDS Certificate (Form-16 or Form-16A) is very important evidence for this condition.  Read the following instruction for more details.

SECTION 139, READ WITH SECTION 199 OF THE INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961 - RETURN OF INCOME - CREDIT OF TDS U/S 199 TO AN ASSESSEE WHEN THE TAX DEDUCTED  HAS BEEN DEPOSITED WITH REVENUE BY DEDUCTOR - DIRECTION OF HON'BLE DELHI HC IN THE CASE 'COURT ON ITS OWN MOTION VS. UNION OF INDIA &ORS. IN WP(C) 2659/2012 & WP(C) 5443/2012'

INSTRUCTION NO. 5/2013 [F.NO.275/03/2013-IT(B)], DATED 8-7-2013

1. The CBDT issues instructions with respect to processing of Income-tax returns and giving credit for TDS thereon in the case of TDS mismatch. A few of the instructions on this subject issued in previous years are Instruction No. 1/2010 (25-2-2010) for returns pertaining to A.Y, 2008-09; Instruction No. 05/2010 (21-7-2010), Instruction No. 07/2010 (16-8-2010) and Instruction No. 09/2010 (9-12-2010) for returns pertaining to AY. 2009-10; Instruction No. 02/2011 (9-2-2011) for returns pertaining to A.Y. 2010-11; and Instruction No. 1/2012 (2-2-2012) and Instruction No. 04/2012 (25-5-2012) for returns pertaining to A.Y. 2011-12. The instructions gave decisions and the manner in which the TDS claims were to be given credit while clearing the backlog of returns pending processing. In the cases that did not fall under the specific TDS amount limit or refund amount computed, the residuary clause in these instructions gave the manner of processing those returns and it stated that "TDS credit shall be given after due verification ".

2. The Hon'ble Delhi High Court vide its judgment in the case 'Court On its Own Motion v. UOI and Ors. (W.P. (C) 2659/2012 & W.P. (C) 5443/2012 dated 14-3-2013) has issued seven mandamuses for necessary action by Income-tax Department, one of which is regarding the issue of non-credit of TDS to the taxpayer due to TDS mismatch despite the assessee furnishing before the Assessing Officer, TDS certificate issued by the deductor.

3. In view of the order of the Hon'ble Delhi High Court (reference: para 50 of the order); it has been decided by the Board that when an assessee approaches the Assessing Officer with requisite details and particulars in the form of TDS certificate as an evidence against any mismatched amount, the said Assessing Officer will verify whether or not the deductor has made payment of the TDS in the Government Account and if the payment has been made, credit of the same should be given to the assessee. However, the Assessing Officer is at liberty to ascertain and verify the true and correct position about the TDS with the relevant AO (TDS). The AO may also, if deemed necessary, issue a notice to the deductor to compel him to file correction statement as per the procedure laid down.

4. Thus, the manner laid down by the Hon'ble HC in the above mandamus may be one of the method of due verification as mentioned in the various instructions referred in para (1) above.

5. This may be brought to notice of all Officers working under your jurisdiction for compliance.

Interactive Voice Response (IVR) application for status of PAN & TAN is now available.

NSDL-TIN has started a new application for status of PAN and TAN which is known as Interactive Voice Response (IVR).  IVR is new application for knowing the status of your PAN/ TAN application which is now available at TIN call centre (TCC) in Hindi/English language. You may call on 020- 27218080 to check the status of your application.

Facility for payment of PAN application fee in Indian Rupees & foreign currency by foreign citizens/NRIs using 'Credit Card/Debit Card' is now available for those applicants who apply PAN online.

Applicant should search for the status of PAN application using Name and Date Of Birth 24 hours after the application has been submitted online or through TIN-FC with  required documents.

Track your PAN/TAN Application Status

What to do ?, if you don't receive your Tax Refund.

First and foremost, congratulations! You are in an enviable position of being eligible for getting money back from the tax department instead of forking out taxes to them.

We can imagine how impatient you must be to receive your refund! So let’s get right down to helping you fix your problem and get your rightful cash back from the IT department.

Step 1: Check the status of your refund
ClearTax lets you check your refund status in just a click. Click here to check your status now.
Keep your PAN number and the Assessment Year for which you want to check refund status handy.

Step 2: Figure out what your refund status means
1.     No e-Filing has been done for this assessment year.
2.     Not Determined
3.     Refund Paid
Note: You may have received a “notice” explaining why  if you see one of these statuses
4.     No demand no refund
5.     ITR processed refund determined and sent out to Refund Banker
6.     Refund Unpaid
7.     Demand determined
8.     Contact Jurisdictional Assessing Officer

Step 3: Take appropriate action
Number
Reasons why your refund hasn’t reached you
Next Steps
1
You may have filed your returns in the physical form and not e-filed. There could be a lag in reconciling paper filings with e-filed returns, hence the delay
Be patient and wait for the IT department to reconcile their paperwork.

2
Your refund request is still being processed. The delay could be at 2 levels – the IT department itself is taking time to process your request
Be patient. The Income Tax department takes time to process refunds. Make sure you’ve sent the ITR-V within 120 days of e-Filing.
OR

Your request has been processed by the IT department and is stuck at the Refund Banker’s end.
Missed sending the ITR-V in 120 days? Then you need to only revise your return and send the new acknowledgement to CPC Bangalore.
3
Your address provided to the IT department is wrong, hence the cheque has not been delivered
Check out the Speed Post reference number for your cheque that is available on the NSDL – TIN website. Armed with this reference number, cross check with your local post office why the cheque hasn’t reached you yet.

If your address has changed since filing your IT return, you can correct it online via www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in or contact your Assessing Officer and inform them in writing about the change of address.

To find out who the Assessing Officer is, click on this link and quote your PAN number.
4
The bank account that you submitted to the IT department has changed, hence the refund hasn’t reached you
If your bank account has changed since the time you filed your returns, communicate the new account number and MICR code to your Assessing Officer. The AO will instruct SBI to issue a new cheque to the new account that you have registered with them.
To find out who the Assessing Officer is, click on this link and quote your PAN number.
5
You did not explicitly request a refund while filing your IT returns
Did you forget to include a certain deduction while filing?

You can still revise your return with the refund request included in it if your Income Tax Return hasn’t been processed yet.

Read ClearTax’s guide to revising your Income Tax Return.
6
Your refund request was found to be incorrect as per the IT department’s calculations, hence your refund has been rejected.
Remember, whenever the Income Tax Department begs to differ with the information you’ve provided, they will send you a notice explaining what exactly they have a problem with.

If you received a notice saying your refund was rejected, you still have an opportunity to file a rectification to support your refund claim. Contact the experts at ClearTax for help.
7
Your refund request has been rejected, in fact the IT department finds that you owe them unpaid taxes instead.
You can expect to receive a notice from the Income Tax Department regarding the exact amount of tax outstanding.

Cross check with your own records to verify that your original refund request was correct.

If it was, file a rectification supporting your refund claim. If you find that your refund request was indeed erroneous, pay the tax demanded by the IT department within the time limit mentioned in the intimation.
8
The IT department needs additional documentation from your end to process your refund request
On receiving such a message, contact the Assessing Officer for your region without delay.

To find out who the Assessing Officer is, click on this link and quote your PAN number.

You may contact your Assessing Officer via telephone or by post. However, in order to maintain a record of your actions, we recommend contacting your AO via post and requesting a written acknowledgment from them for the same.

 Source: www.in.finance.yahoo.com

Complete Procedure to get Income Tax Refund genuine.

Income Tax Refund - How to get that Delays in income tax refunds, even after the stipulated number of months, are faced by many tax payers. Running from pillar to post at the income tax office, having to deal with impolite income tax officials become a part of the ordeal. At such times tax payers often feel helpless with absolutely no recourse. To address such issues, the government has set up the Tax Ombudsman in select cities, to address grievances and to provide tax payers a platform to put forth his issues and problems.

What is the Tax Ombudsman? The Ombudsman is an independent body initiated by the government and comprises of former Income Tax officials or officials from the Indian Revenue Service. These officers have been empowered to settle grievances and take up matters to the highest authority, with the sole aim of resolving it. They act as an arbitrator and are independent of the jurisdiction of the income-tax department.

Issues handled by Ombudsman:

  •  Delay or discrepancy in tax refunds
  • Impolite behaviour of tax officials
  • Interest waiver
  • Seizure of account books by department
  • Issues relating to allotment of Permanent Account Number
  • Non credit of tax paid, including tax deducted at source.
  • Non-acknowledgement of letters or documents sent to the Department
  • Other administrative matters that have been violated

The Ombudsman however will not help if the issue is being looked at as an appeal, revision, reference or writ by any income-tax authority or appellate authority or tribunal or court.

Location of Ombudsman Offices
Currently there are 12 offices for ombudsman, located in Mumbai, Pune, New Delhi, Ahmadabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Kolkata, Hyderabad, Kanpur, Chandigarh, Bhopal and Kochi. To locate your nearest Ombudsman

Complaints addressed to the Ombudsman could be sent to the nearest Ombudsman Office.

Process to Address Grievances through Ombudsman
Ø Before you approach the ombudsman If you are facing an issue, before you approach the Ombudsman, you should have already submitted a written complaint with your income tax officer. If the complaint has not been satisfactorily addressed, or if the officer rejects your complaint, or if no reply is received within 30 days of writing the complaint, only then should the issue be raised to Ombudsman. The complaint should be filed with the Ombudsman within one year, after the 30 day wait for a response from the I-T official.

Submitting Documents and Details to Ombudsman
There is no standard format for addressing a complaint to the Ombudsman. However, while filing your complaint to the Ombudsman, the following details must be included.

  • Name, address and PAN of assessee
  • Facts and details about the grievance- date wise complaints filed, responses, and the time gap involved etc.
  • Copies of the letter of the first complain made to the income-tax authorities
  • Other documents such as relevant income proof supporting your claim and complaint
  • The relief requested from the Ombudsman

Resolving of Complaints
The Ombudsman acts as an intermediary between the Income Tax Department and the tax payer. It tries to resolve the issue by hastening the process. The Ombudsman has the power to pay penal interest for the duration of the delay. For cases where no resolution is passed in a month’s time of receiving the written complaint, Ombudsman could pass a decision called award. If deemed probable, a monetary compensation could be paid by the Ombudsman.

The Decision of the Ombudsman
The Ombudsman has been empowered by the government to help tax payers and also better the whole tax process. All decisions taken would be in line with the prevailing tax laws and only if the submitted documents are deemed fit. The decision of the Ombudsman thus has to be abided by the Income Tax Department and the tax payer. Once the Ombudsman decision is passed, tax payers need to make known their acceptance of the ombudsman decision of the final settlement within 15 days of receiving the letter stating the ombudsman’s decision, or as per the time frame mentioned in the letter. If one fails to do so, any award proposed shall lapse and be of no effect.

Sourse: www.caclubindia.com
            Posted by Ashay