Income Tax Refund Delay — RTI Templates, Case Law, 2026 Guide

Also useful: Check your ITR return status online.

If your Income Tax refund has been pending beyond the Income Tax Department's own service standard of 60 days from ITR processing, you have a statutory right under the Right to Information Act, 2005 to force a written reply in 30 days from the CPC Bengaluru CPIO and/or your jurisdictional Assessing Officer's PIO. This guide gives you the exact RTI templates — one for CPC (Centralized Processing Centre) Bengaluru for online-filed returns, one for the jurisdictional AO's office for assessment / scrutiny / demand matters, one for the Directorate of Income Tax (Systems) for portal / technical issues — plus the complete escalation ladder via CPGRAMS, Income Tax Ombudsman (re-activated 2024), CIC Second Appeal, and writ under Article 226.

• §143(1) — intimation of processing within 9 months from end of FY in which ITR was filed (outer limit).
• §244A — interest on refund at 6% per annum simple from date after expiry of 30-day processing OR from date of excess TDS collection, whichever is later.
• CBDT Instruction No. 1/2024 — priority processing of refunds up to ₹1 lakh; online-verified returns to be processed within 15-30 days.
• Faceless Assessment Scheme 2019 — scrutiny routed through National Faceless Assessment Centre (NFAC); separate PIO structure.

• “Under Process” at CPC — 15-30 days normal. Beyond 45 days is a red flag.
• “Processed — Refund pending for dispatch” — system error or bank details mismatch. Check “Refund Reissue” on the e-filing portal.
• “Refund paid — not received in bank” — UTR on portal; call bank with UTR.
• “Refund adjusted against outstanding demand under §245” — adjustment proposal should have been sent as §245 intimation; challenge within 21 days.
• “Defective return u/s 139(9)“ — respond through portal within 15 days.
• “Refund withheld u/s 245” — stuck until underlying scrutiny / assessment closes.
• “Refund returned by bank — please raise reissue” — KYC mismatch; update bank + raise reissue request.

To:
The Central Public Information Officer,
Centralized Processing Centre (CPC),
Income Tax Department,
Post Bag No. 1, Electronic City Post Office,
Bengaluru 560100, Karnataka.

Subject: RTI — status of income tax refund for AY [YEAR-YEAR], PAN [PAN],
          ITR ack. [NUMBER]

Respected Sir/Madam,

Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following
information regarding my ITR for Assessment Year [AY]:

1. Date on which my return filed on [DATE of e-filing] was received at
   CPC and the queue position at the time of receipt.

2. Current stage of processing (under §143(1) intimation / refund
   pending dispatch / refund paid / refund returned).

3. If the refund has been paid, the Unique Transaction Reference
   (UTR) number, date of credit, and bank account to which it was
   credited.

4. If the refund has not been paid, the reason for delay and the
   expected date of dispatch.

5. Whether any adjustment under §245 has been made against
   outstanding demand; if yes, copy of the §245 intimation and
   underlying demand order.

6. Whether the ITR has been flagged for scrutiny / revision / re-opening;
   if yes, the notice number and issuing officer.

7. Interest under §244A accrued on the refund as of date of this reply.

8. Name, designation, email and phone of the dealing officer at CPC
   handling my case.

Rs. 10 RTI fee has been paid online via rtionline.gov.in (alternatively
IPO is enclosed in favour of "Accounts Officer, Income Tax Department").

Yours faithfully,
[Name]
PAN: [PAN]
Address, mobile, email.
Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]

File online: rtionline.gov.in → Ministry of Finance → Income Tax Department → Centralized Processing Centre (CPC).

To:
The Public Information Officer,
Office of the [Assistant / Deputy] Commissioner of Income Tax,
Circle / Ward / Range [NUMBER],
[City, State].

Subject: RTI — status of assessment and refund for AY [YEAR-YEAR],
          PAN [PAN]

Sir/Madam,

Under the RTI Act, 2005, I request:

1. Status of the assessment proceedings for AY [AY] — whether under
   §143(1), §143(3), §147 re-opening, or other. If under scrutiny,
   the notice number and dates of hearings held.

2. Copy of any notices issued to me in connection with this
   assessment, and copies of my replies on file.

3. Whether any refund computation has been done; if yes, the amount
   and the order generating the refund (or the reason for withholding
   under §245).

4. Any outstanding demand against PAN [PAN] as on date, the assessment
   year, the amount, and the order generating the demand.

5. Whether the refund has been adjusted under §245; if yes, copy of
   the §245 intimation and the demand order against which adjusted.

6. Name, designation and contact of the present AO, and the Range /
   Circle to which PAN [PAN] is jurisdictional.

7. Copy of the noting sheet of the file from date of ITR receipt till
   date of this reply.

Rs. 10 IPO in favour of "Accounts Officer, Income Tax Department" is
enclosed (or waiver under §7(5) for BPL applicants).

Yours faithfully,
[Name] / PAN [PAN]

To:
The Central Public Information Officer,
Directorate of Income Tax (Systems),
ARA Centre, E-2, Jhandewalan Extension,
New Delhi 110055.

Subject: RTI — portal technical issue / grievance ref [REF] for PAN [PAN]

Sir/Madam,

Under the RTI Act, 2005:

1. Status of the grievance I raised through the e-filing portal on
   [DATE] bearing reference number [REF] relating to [describe issue].

2. The dealing officer at DIT (Systems) and the technical team assigned.

3. Service standard for resolution of this category of grievance and
   the reason for delay beyond that standard.

4. Copy of the correspondence between DIT (Systems) and the CPC /
   NSDL / UTIITSL as applicable on this grievance.

Rs. 10 IPO enclosed (or online via rtionline.gov.in).

Yours faithfully,
[Name]

1. Day 0 — File RTI to CPC (for online ITR) or AO (for assessment matters).
2. Day 0 parallel — Raise grievance at CPGRAMS (tag Ministry of Finance).
3. Day 0 parallel — File grievance at e-filing portal → “Grievance” → “Submit a New Grievance”.
4. Day 0 parallel — Call the e-filing helpline 1800-103-0025 (or 1800-419-0025) or 08046122000.
5. Day 7 — If the refund concerns a hardship (medical, senior citizen or a small refund), escalate through e-Nivaran on the e-filing portal and in parallel on CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in. Do not look for an Income Tax Ombudsman — that institution was abolished in February 2019.
6. Day 30 — PIO reply due under §7(1).
7. Day 60 — First Appeal under §19(1) to the FAA (CIT at the same office).
8. Day 150 — Second Appeal under §19(3) to CIC.
9. Parallel — Writ petition under Article 226 — Delhi HC + Bombay HC have been active on refund delays.

• Jag Mohan Chawla v. CBDT (Delhi HC 2019) — §244A interest runs from date of excess TDS collection, not from date of ITR filing.
• Tata Teleservices v. UoI (Bombay HC 2020) — mandamus issued for refund where IT Department failed to issue §143(1) intimation within statutory period.
• Subhash Chandra Agarwal v. DGIT (CIC 2015) — held file noting on refund processing is disclosable; fiduciary / §8(1)(e) defence rejected.
• Anjali Bhardwaj v. DoPT (CIC monitoring) — IT Department PIOs repeatedly pulled up for non-reply.
• CBDT Instruction No. 1/2024 — priority processing + refund hierarchy.

Under §244A, you are entitled to simple interest at 6% per annum on the refund amount from the date the refund became payable. Calculate:

• From date after ITR processing (for refunds of excess self-assessment tax).
• From 1 April of the AY (for refunds of excess TDS / advance tax).

Always include a question in your RTI asking for the accrued §244A interest. Many citizens forget; CPC auto-pays it but errors are common.

• “Information relates to third-party ITR (your employer's TDS)“ → Not third-party — it is your own tax liability. Jayantilal Mistry (SC 2016) applied.
• “Fiduciary (§8(1)(e))“ → Not fiduciary; taxpayer-Department is statutory, not fiduciary. Cite Jayantilal Mistry.
• “§245 adjustment details are internal” → §245 requires prior written intimation. Adjustment without intimation is void.
• “Scrutiny file is privileged under §8(1)(h)“ → §8(1)(h) applies only while investigation is live. Once assessment order passes, clause ceases.

15-30 days for online-verified returns per CBDT Instruction 1/2024. 60 days is the outer service standard. Beyond 60 days, RTI is the proper remedy.

₹10 under Central RTI Rules 2012. BPL exempt under §7(5). Pay online via SBI gateway on rtionline.gov.in or via IPO in favour of “Accounts Officer, Income Tax Department”.

No. The institution was abolished in February 2019 by a Cabinet decision, along with the Indirect Tax Ombudsman. It had been created under guidelines rather than under an Act, so its decisions were only advisory, and the Government found it no more effective than the existing channels. Use e-Nivaran on the e-filing portal, the departmental grievance cells and Aaykar Seva Kendras, and CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in instead. An RTI plus a §19(1) First Appeal remains the route that carries statutory deadlines.

Yes — §244A provides 6% p.a. simple interest. Your RTI should explicitly ask for the interest calculation. CPC auto-computes, but errors are common.

Yes. §245 requires prior written intimation and a 21-day response window. If that was not followed, the adjustment is procedurally void. File a rectification under §154 plus an RTI for the §245 intimation document.

Two causes: (a) wrong bank account — update via portal, raise reissue; (b) bank-system error — call bank with UTR from portal. RTI to CPC only if neither resolves in 15 days.

Your own tax data is your information; DPDP does not bar your access to your own records (Article 21 + §3 of RTI Act). DPDP affects requests about OTHER people.

Yes. CPC accepts RTIs in English and Hindi. Reply will be in the same language.

Yes. July-September is peak refund-processing season (post-ITR-deadline). Delays compound in August-October. File RTI early — the earlier your ARN in the CPC queue, the faster your reply.

• AI RTI Drafter — pre-fill for IT refund
• First Appeal Builder
• RTI Deadline Calculator
• First Appeal & Second Appeal Complete Guide
• §8 Exemptions — every clause
• PAN Decoder — validate format + draft RTI

• Income Tax Act, 1961 — incometaxindia.gov.in
• CBDT Instruction No. 1/2024 — priority processing
• §244A interest — incometax.gov.in
• e-Filing portal — incometax.gov.in
• rtionline.gov.in
• Central Information Commission

1. Step 1: Why do income tax refunds get delayed? (a) Common reasons: (i) pending verification of ITR, (ii) mismatch between ITR and Form 16/AIS, (iii) outstanding demand under Section 245, (iv) bank account not pre-validated, (v) pending scrutiny assessment, (vi) CPC processing backlog, (b) legal timeline: (i) CPC must process refund within 1 month of ITR verification (normal), (ii) interest under Section 244A payable if delayed, © refund status check: incometax.gov.in → Profile → Refund Status.
2. Step 2: Comparison table — refund delay reasons and solutions. (a) Pending verification: (i) cause: e-verification not done, (ii) solution: e-verify on incometax.gov.in, (iii) timeline: 1 month after verification, (b) ITR mismatch: (i) cause: income/TDS mismatch, (ii) solution: file rectification under Section 154, (iii) timeline: 1 month after rectification, © Section 245 adjustment: (i) cause: outstanding demand, (ii) solution: respond to Section 245 notice, (iii) timeline: 1 month after response, (d) Bank validation: (i) cause: bank account not pre-validated, (ii) solution: pre-validate on portal, (iii) timeline: 1 month after validation, (e) Scrutiny: (i) cause: assessment under Section 143(3), (ii) solution: cooperate with assessment, (iii) timeline: after assessment order.
3. Step 3: How to file RTI for income tax refund delay. (a) Income Tax Department and CBDT are public authorities under RTI Act, (b) RTI application can ask: (i) “Provide the refund status for PAN [number] for AY [year] including: ITR acknowledgment, processing date, refund amount, refund mode (ECS/cheque), refund status, reason for delay”, (ii) “Provide the reason for delay in processing refund for PAN [number] AY [year] beyond the statutory timeline including: pending verification, outstanding demand, scrutiny status”, (iii) “Provide the interest calculation under Section 244A for delayed refund for PAN [number] AY [year]”, © application fee Rs 10, (d) file with CPIO of CPC Bengaluru or jurisdictional AO.
4. Step 4: How to escalate if RTI doesn't help. (a) Step 1: File first appeal with FAA if CPIO doesn't respond in 30 days, (b) Step 2: File second appeal with CIC, © Step 3: File complaint with CBDT grievance — cpgramsofficename.gov.in, (d) Step 4: File writ petition in High Court for mandamus.
5. Step 6: Practical tips. (a) check refund status on incometax.gov.in first, (b) pre-validate bank account, © e-verify ITR promptly, (d) file RTI with CPC Bengaluru for processing delays, (e) ask for Section 244A interest calculation, (f) file first appeal if no response in 30 days, (g) Example: A taxpayer's Rs 45,000 refund was delayed 8 months; filed RTI with CPC; refund processed in 20 days with Rs 2,000 interest.

See IT Refund Delay RTI and Section 245 Notice and IT 143(1)(a) Response and TDS Refund Status.