There has been a sharp rise in income-tax refund payouts over the past 24 hours, particularly high-value credits, offering relief to taxpayers after weeks of delays and a surge in complaints on social
media, Moneycontrol.com reported, citing tax professionals.
“Over the last 24 hours, there has been a noticeable acceleration in refund issuance, with a large number of taxpayers receiving refund credits yesterday night and this morning. In my own professional practice, several clients have received substantial refunds, including amounts of Rs 15–Rs 17 lakh,” Himank Singla, Founding Partner at SBHS & Co, told Moneycontrol.com.
The development comes even as the processing backlog remains significant. Minister of State for Finance Pankaj Chaudhary recently said that around 8.8 crore income tax returns had been filed up to February 4, of which nearly 24.64 lakh had remained unprocessed for over three months.
According to experts quoted by Moneycontrol.com, while several large refunds have now been credited, many high-value cases are still pending and are likely to be cleared in subsequent processing cycles.
Singla advised taxpayers not to panic and to remain patient, noting that refunds are being issued in batches as per the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) timelines. He also urged taxpayers to ensure their bank accounts are pre-validated and properly linked with PAN to avoid further delays.
Pratibha Goyal, a New Delhi-based chartered accountant, told Moneycontrol.com that several of her clients, including corporates, have received sizeable refunds since yesterday. She described the recent pace of refunds as an encouraging start to the year.
As per the law, intimation under Section 143(1) must be issued within nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return is filed. For example, returns filed in FY 2025–26, which ends on March 31, 2026, can be processed until September 30, 2026.
The report also noted that under the government’s NUDGE initiative, the Income Tax Department is increasingly deploying data analytics to flag potential discrepancies in returns. These may include undisclosed foreign assets or income, incorrect deduction claims under provisions such as Sections 80G, 80GGC or 80E, excess exemption claims, or incomplete reporting of financial information.
In some cases, taxpayers may receive communications asking them to voluntarily review or update their returns before refunds are released, Singla added, according to Moneycontrol.com.
