The December 31st deadline is over! Has your income tax refund been delayed? Learn the secret to getting your stuck money back..
The end of the year has brought confusion for many income taxpayers. The December 31st deadline has passed, after which neither revised nor belated returns can be filed. But what about those who were expecting a refund but haven't received the money in their accounts yet? It's easy to assume that the refund is lost after the deadline, but this isn't always true. A refund doesn't simply disappear with the change of the calendar year. The real question is whether you filed a valid return on time and why the refund is being delayed.
Rectification under Section 154
If your ITR has been processed and you have received an intimation under Section 143(1), but the refund is less than expected or not received at all due to an error, you can now file a rectification request under Section 154.
This rectification request option is usually useful in the following cases:
TDS/TCS mismatch
Error in tax or interest calculation
Simple mathematical or clerical errors
Error in loss carry-forward
The good news is that rectification can be done online on the income tax e-filing portal even after the December 31st deadline.
Understand the difference between the Revised Return and Rectification
Revised ITR: Filed when there are significant omissions in the original return, such as missing a source of income, claiming incorrect deductions, incorrect personal details, or choosing the wrong ITR form.
Rectified ITR (Section 154): Filed when the return has been processed, and there are clear errors in the processing, such as tax credit mismatch, PAN/gender errors, etc.
In simple terms, a revised return corrects what you filed incorrectly, while rectification corrects what was processed incorrectly. If the return shows 'Under Processing'
Also, please note that if the status is 'Under Processing', you don't need to do anything for now. Under the law, the CPC (Central Processing Centre) has a stipulated time for processing.
How much time does the government have for processing?
- The CPC can process the return within 9 months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed.
- Example: If the ITR was filed on July 31, 2025, or December 31, 2025, the CPC can process it by December 31, 2026. However, if processing is not done within the stipulated time and the case does not go into assessment/re-assessment, the taxpayer becomes entitled to a refund with interest under Section 244A.
If there is an excessive delay beyond the time limit, taxpayers can file a grievance on the e-filing portal or escalate the matter through CPGRAMS.
Updated Return (ITR-U) Option
Through ITR-U, taxpayers can file/update their returns up to 48 months after the end of the assessment year. For AY 2025-26, the last date could be March 31, 2030.
However, please note that:
It involves extra tax (25%, 50%, 60%, 70% respectively in the first to fourth year).
Refund claims are not permitted.
Losses cannot be created/increased/carried forward.
Only one updated return per year.
In short, ITR-U is for those who need to pay extra tax, not for those seeking a refund.
What to do now?
The solution is not to rewrite the return, but rather to:
Check the Tax Credit Statement (26AS/AIS).
Respond to emails/notices received from the department.
Correct any technical/factual errors in the records.
Also read: New Income Tax: New Income Tax Act from April 1, 2026! Good news or bad news for taxpayers? Get all the details of the new act.
Keep your return receipts, TDS certificates, and bank confirmations safe, as delays or oversights can further delay your refund.
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