The deadline of July 31 to file the Income Tax Return for assessment year 2024-25 is nearing. Once the ITR is filed, the Income Tax Department will conduct an assessment and provide tax refunds. Hence, the filing of the ITR and subsequent processing of it is of paramount importance. Let us take a look at how the Tax department processes the ITR.
What is ITR?
Income Tax Return commonly known by its acronym, ITR, is a document that a person or an entity files to proclaim their income in any fiscal year. With due consideration, the annual income is recorded after the completion of a financial year and so is assessed in the next year. So anyone filing the ITR for the financial year 2023-24, the assessment year will be 2024-25.
ITR processed through online, offline mode
It must be noted that taxpayers often pay more tax than what they owe through the Tax Deduction at Source (TDS), which they get as a refund. After the taxpayers file their ITR, the department processes their refund after verifying their claim of income. The ITR verification is done in both online and offline mode. After the re-verification, it usually takes 15-45 days for the Income Tax Department to process the returns online mode, while in offline mode it takes longer.
Intimation
After the ITR is processed, the department sends a notification to the taxpayer under Section 143 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Intimation notifications can be loosely considered as what came out of one's ITR.
It means that if after processing ITR, the department finds any discrepancies in tax returns and its records, it may demand additional tax payment. However, sometimes, the tax demand also gets generated due to errors, and mathematical mistakes.
Similarly, a condition may also arise when the TDS is more, then the additional deposited tax refund will be adjusted accordingly. Lastly, a condition may arise where there is neither a demand nor a refund. Such a condition happens when the return is processed without changes.
What to do if ITR not processed?
In case, the ITR does not get processed even after a long time, the taxpayers can lodge a complaint. The taxpayers can visit the income tax website and register their complaints through the grievance option. If not in reach of the portal, one can also use helpline numbers to reach the Central Processing Centre (CPC).
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