Here's where we step in with our experts, Relax With Tax.
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I am a salaried employee. I filed my returns in 2004 as well as 2005. In both cases, I paid more tax than required.
Till date, I have not received a single refund.
How can I check the status of the refund?
- Repala Ramesh
The assessment process for the financial year 2004-05 would be in progress currently and, accordingly, you may expect to receive the refund in couple of months.
However, with regard to the financial year 2003-04, you should have received the refund by now.
You could correspond with your ward Income Tax Office to understand the status of your assessment.
You can go onto the Income Tax website and locate the regional pages to track the relevant officer.
My wife and I filed our return in Chennai in July 2004. We were both due to receive refunds. We shifted jobs and cities in December.
Inspite of submitting all the details and requesting for an ECS, we never got the refund.
Is there a way to follow up?
- Sidharth Bhan
It may be possible that the refund order may have been dispatched to your address through registered post. In the absence of anyone being at home or the house being locked, it would have been returned.
Thanks to the Income Tax Department's Electronic Clearance Scheme, once your income tax return is processed, the refund will be credited directly to your bank account.
This would require you to mention the name of the bank and the account number where you desire to receive the refund.
However, the ECS mode of refund effectively may commence only from April 1, 2006.
In the meanwhile, if there is a delay, please write to the concerned officer. You can also approach the Public Relations Officer of the Income Tax Department for help.
All IT offices have a PRO cell. One would need to know where he/she is filing his/her return and then approach the PRO office at the relevant location.
Detail your situation and request them to send the refund cheque to an alternative location where someone could receive it.
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