The Income Tax Department has sent SMS and email alerts to taxpayers for Assessment Year 2025-26, pausing refunds under a risk management process due to mismatches in their ITR filing.
Several taxpayers have flagged these alerts, expressing frustration over the timing and lack of detailed follow-up emails, though the Income Tax Department calls these routine communications to ensure accuracy.
This comes as the due date to file a revised return is fast approaching, with taxpayers required to make the necessary corrections and file their return by 31 December 2025.
What do the alerts say?
In a screenshot shared by a taxpayer on X (formerly Twitter), the message purportedly sent by the Income Tax Department states that the processing of the return has been put on hold after it was flagged under the risk management process due to certain discrepancies in the refund claim.
The user who shared the screenshot expressed frustration over the vague communication, saying that such alerts create unnecessary stress, as they leave people unsure whether their returns will be delayed or whether scrutiny could be initiated.
“if you don’t trust the Taxpayer in their Original ITR, then might as well mention while sending such messages and emails that please ignore this totally and refund won’t get stuck, scrutiny may be unnecessarily be initiated. Its very stressful,” the user said in the post.
Taxpayers express concern
Numerous posts have emerged on the social media platform X, where taxpayers have shared their concerns about similar alerts from the Income Tax Department.
Another taxpayer, who identified themselves as a Chartered Accountant on X, said that even assesses claiming genuine deductions are receiving such emails, which state that their returns have been temporarily kept on hold.
As per the screenshots shared by the user, the Income Tax Department said that the processing of the taxpayer’s ITR has been kept on hold due to a significant mismatch between the exemption claimed in the return and the amounts reported by the employer in Form 16, resulting in a substantially high claim of refund.
Mint could not independently verify the accuracy of the screenshots shared by the users.
“Now, if an employee hasn’t reported any deduction claims to employer but has claimed those in ITR, does that mean he is a tax evader?” the user said.
Another user also flagged these alerts, stating that the department is issuing such messages on a mass scale.
“After considerable delay in processing they are giving just 1 week to revisit he ITR and file before 31st Dec. Revised ITR due date needs to be extended this year due to notable delay in processing of ITRs (sic),” they said on X.
How much time is given to the taxpayers to fix the errors?
The deadline for filing a revised return is 31 December 2025, where taxpayers are allowed to make corrections in their ITR. A belated return can be filed during several scenarios, which include missing out on any income or deduction, for example, a wrong TDS claim or underreporting of income.
The email sent to the taxpayers also mentioned that an updated return may be alternatively filed after 1 January 2026; but it comes at the expense of additional tax liabilities.
Income-tax refund delayed
The alerts also come at a time when many taxpayers are hoping to see their refunds before year-end. Most refunds are typically processed within a few weeks of filing and e-verification.
The ITR filing deadline for this year was 16 September. Many taxpayers have indeed received their ITR refund, but others have been puzzled by the delay.
Addressing the concerns, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman Ravi Agrawal said in November that the I-T Department is undertaking an analysis of wrongful deductions claimed in certain cases, which is why tax returns are being delayed.
He also mentioned that the remaining refunds are most likely to be released by December, as Mint reported earlier.
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