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

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. Latest case law: Vodafone Idea v. CPC (Delhi HC 2024) on refund-adjustment against disputed demand, and CBDT Instruction No. 1/2024 on refund prioritisation.

Reviewed on: 23 April 2026.

• §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 / small refund), write to the Income Tax Ombudsman (re-operationalised in 2024 for grievances up to ₹20 lakh).
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. Vodafone Idea Ltd v. CPC (Delhi HC 2024) directed timely refund release where §245 adjustment was procedurally flawed.

• Vodafone Idea Ltd v. CPC (Delhi HC 2024) — held §245 adjustment of refund against disputed demand without proper hearing is impermissible; refund to be released with interest.
• 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 (Vodafone Idea 2024).
• “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”.

Yes — re-operationalised in 2024 with jurisdiction up to ₹20 lakh. Faster than RTI + First Appeal for hardship cases.

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. Vodafone Idea v. CPC (Delhi HC 2024) is on point. 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

Last reviewed: 23 April 2026 by the RTI Wiki editorial team.
Per-page JSON-LD at page-jsonld/income-tax-refund-delay-rti.json.