Income Tax Refund 2025: Several taxpayers have taken to social media over the past few days claiming they have received emails and/or SMS messages from the Income Tax Department stating that their income
tax refunds have been put on hold due to “mismatches” in their ITR filings.
According to screenshots shared online, the message sent to taxpayers says that processing of their return has been paused after it was flagged under the department’s risk management process.
“Processing of the said return was held as it was identified under risk management process on account of certain discrepancies in the claim of refund. An email with details has also been sent to your registered email address,” the message typically reads, as per multiple posts on social media.
Returns flagged under risk management process
In one screenshot shared on X (formerly Twitter), the purported message from the Income Tax Department states that the return has been put on hold after being identified under the risk management framework due to discrepancies in the refund claim.
Some taxpayers have also said they were asked to file a revised return for the relevant assessment year by the prescribed deadline of December 31.
The messages have left many taxpayers confused, prompting them to seek clarification from the tax department online. Several users have pointed out inconsistencies between the alerts received via SMS or email and the status shown on the income tax portal.
Numerous posts have surfaced on X, with taxpayers sharing screenshots and describing similar experiences.
One user on X claimed that while they received a message stating their ITR had been put on hold and that details were shared via email, no such email was received.
“Received a message that my ITR is put on hold, more details are sent over the email. But there’s no email, no action item, nothing in the worklist. And the funny part is, my ITR status in the portal says refund has been credited to my account,” the user wrote.
Possible reasons behind the alerts
Explaining the possible trigger behind these communications, chartered accountant Pratik Bharda said on X that such messages were being sent to thousands of taxpayers in December, particularly in certain cases.
“Thousands of taxpayers are getting this in December — especially when refund amounts are high or when 80C, 80D or HRA claims do not exactly match the details in Form 16,” he said.
The Income Tax Department has not yet issued a formal clarification on the bulk messages, even as taxpayers continue to flag discrepancies between the alerts received and the information available on the ITR portal.
