The process of filing an Income Tax Return (ITR) for Financial Year 2024-25 or Assessment Year 2025-26 has officially begun! More than 1.23 Lakh Returns (ITR) have been filed in the first five days, and 90% of these returns have also been verified. This is a fantastic start, but now people’s attention is on when the Income Tax Department will start processing returns and refunds (ITR Refund Status). If you are also eagerly waiting for your refund, then this news is extremely important for you.
ITR filing started late this year
This year the ITR filing process has started a little later than usual. The main reason for this is the delay in releasing the form and related utility. The Income Tax Department has started the filing process for the financial year 2024-25 with Excel-based Utility (V1.0) and Validation Tool. These tools support ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam). Soon after releasing the offline tool, the department also started online filing of ITR-1 and ITR-4 with pre-filled data through the e-filing portal.
The ITR forms were made available in late April, but the filing utility became available only after some time. Due to this delay, this year’s ITR filing lagged behind a bit.
Record-breaking return filing in the first five days
Despite the late start, taxpayers are filing returns rapidly. Within just 5 days of the release of the utility, more than 1.23 lakh ITRs were filed and more than 1.12 lakh were verified. This shows how serious taxpayers are about their responsibilities. Now the question arising in the minds of taxpayers is when will the processing of ITR and the refund process start?
Return processing and refund till when
Brokerage firm Angel One has written in one of its blogs that the Income Tax Department can start processing returns by mid-June 2025. If there is no mistake on the part of the taxpayer, the refund usually arrives in his bank account within 5 to 7 days of the release of the information. This is good news for those who want their refund as soon as possible.
Verification before processing
Before processing the return, the Centralized Processing Center (CPC) verifies the data filed in the return with third-party sources. These sources include Form 26AS, Annual Information Statement (AIS), and Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS).
This data is filled by financial institutions, employers, and other entities on the basis of information provided during TDS returns. The last date for filing TDS returns for the previous quarter is May 31, so the final data is expected to appear on the Income Tax portal soon.
Processing only after verification
CPC starts processing the return only after successful verification. This verification can be done using Aadhaar OTP, Net Banking, or by physically submitting the ITR-V (Acknowledgement Form) at the Bengaluru CPC office. Without verification, the return is not processed. Therefore, it is extremely important to ensure that your ITR is successfully verified.
Technology has changed the picture
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman told the Parliament that in 2013, the average processing of returns took 93 days. Now, due to technology upgrades, this time has come down to about 10 days. This shows how efficient the Income Tax Department has made its processes, thereby providing faster services to taxpayers.