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Concerns regarding the delay in income tax refund have increased across the country and this topic is continuously trending on Google. Millions of people want to know when they will get their refund and why the processing is going so slow. Scrutiny of high-value and red-flagged refund claims has slowed down the entire process.
New Delhi. The issue of delay in income tax refund has increased so rapidly across the country that it has reached the top of Google Trends. People are asking ‘ITR Refund Delay’, ‘When will I receive my refund?’ Such questions are being searched the most. According to Income Tax Department data, so far 8.18 crore ITRs have been filed, out of which processing of 6.95 crore has been completed. This means that more than 92 lakh returns are still pending. A large number of taxpayers are upset over not receiving refunds and want to know the exact reason for the delay.
Refund process slowed down due to investigation of high-value claims
According to the Income Tax Department, this time the number of high-value and doubtful refund claims has increased. CBDT Chairman Ravi Aggarwal said that wrong deductions, mismatches and red-flagged claims were found in many returns. Due to their serious investigation, the whole process has slowed down. The department has clarified that all valid refunds will be issued till December 2025. However, despite such assurance, ‘Income Tax Refund Delay’ kept trending on Google, which shows that there is a state of anxiety among the people.
Lakhs of ITRs pending, hence the wait is increasing
According to the data of the government portal, a large number of ITRs are still stuck in the verification and processing stage. Out of 8.18 crore, 7.87 crore returns have been verified, but the processing has reached only 6.95 crore. This simply means that work is yet to be done on more than 90 lakh returns. Returns in which wrong TDS claims, incorrect bank details or suspicious claims for excess refund have been found have been kept under separate scrutiny. The department has also advised such taxpayers to file revised returns.
Check your income tax refund status like this
Taxpayers can check their refund status in two ways – first, by logging into the Income Tax e-filing portal and going to the ‘View Filed Returns’ section. Second, by entering PAN and assessment year on the refund status page of NSDL (TIN) portal. Here it is known whether the refund has been processed, sent or is still in processing. Those who had missed the last date (16 September 2025) have been told that they can file Belated ITR till 31 December 2025. For this, a late fee of up to Rs 5,000 is charged, while for those with income less than Rs 5 lakh, the fine is Rs 1,000.
