ITR has been verified but not processed? Know what to do

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Lakhs of taxpayers are busy preparing for the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline of 15 September. But keep in mind, just filing the ITR is not enough. It is also necessary to verify it.

Then the Income Tax Department processes it. Sometimes even after verification, processing takes more time than usual.

Lakhs of taxpayers are preparing for the Income Tax Return (ITR) filing deadline of 15 September. But keep in mind, just filing the ITR is not enough. It is also necessary to verify it. Then the Income Tax Department processes it. When the processing is complete, a notification of ‘Processing Complete’ appears on the portal. If you do not e-verify within 30 days of filing, the return becomes invalid. This may delay the refund and may also cause other problems.

Why does processing take so much time?

Sometimes, even after verification, processing takes more time than usual. Tax and investment expert Balwant Jain says that after the ITR is verified, the department checks the accuracy of the information given in it and the errors in tax calculation. This process can take from a few hours to 6 months. It all depends on the complexity of your sources of income.

For example, ITR-1 is usually processed quickly as it does not contain capital gains or business income. However, if you have earned capital gains from shares or mutual funds, then it may take longer for the ITR to be processed.

Main reasons for delay in processing

According to Jain, ITR processing usually runs on autopilot. If your declaration matches the annual payment shown in Form 26AS and Annual Information Statement (AIS), then processing is done smoothly. But in cases of capital gains or business income, both these forms (26AS and AIS) have to be matched, which is time consuming.

If the TDS amount does not match in both these forms, then the ITR is not processed. Apart from this, providing wrong bank account details or difference in PAN and Aadhaar card information can also delay processing.

Processing not done even after verification?

Once the taxpayer files and verifies the ITR, the responsibility of processing it rests entirely with the Income Tax Department. If there is a difference between your income declaration and the department’s records, you will receive a notice regarding this. After this, you will have to make the necessary changes in your ITR.

Suppose you are getting interest from fixed deposit and you have not disclosed it in ITR, then you may get a notice. To avoid this, Jain advises that you can adopt two methods. One is to show interest income on year-by-year basis (this is the common method). For this, you can get a certificate of interest from the bank every year or you can take the data from AIS and enter it in ITR. The second method is ‘receipt basis’. Show the income of FD only when you get the full amount after maturity.

ITR may also be rejected

Remember, the Income Tax Department can also reject the ITR, but before doing so, it will send a notice of ‘Defective Return’ to the taxpayer. Jain explains, “The taxpayer will be given a chance to correct the mistake. If he does not correct the mistake, then only the ITR can be rejected.”

 

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