Income Tax refund delayed 18 months — RTI to CPC?

Yes — and IT department is unusually responsive to well-framed RTIs because of CIC's stricter stance on financial accountability.

File RTI to CPIO, Income Tax Department, CPC Bengaluru (NOT your jurisdictional AO — CPC handles refunds):

1. Status of refund for PAN XXX for AY 2023-24, exact stage and date last updated 2. Reason for delay beyond 60 days of intimation u/s 143(1) 3. Interest accrued u/s 244A till date 4. Officer in-charge / name of designated officer for this return 5. Whether any rectification / re-processing is pending

In parallel — raise a grievance on the income tax e-filing portal (Grievance > Refund Related). The grievance + RTI together usually triggers action in 2-4 weeks.

Template: https://righttoinformation.wiki/rti-for-income-tax-refund-delay IT-grievance escalation ladder: https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-grievance-escalation

Chapter 12 of The RTI Playbook has worked-through tax-refund cases with sample replies.

Also worth knowing — u/s 244A you're entitled to 0.5% per month interest on delayed refund. Specifically ask for the interest computation. CPC sometimes silently drops the interest, asking puts it back on the table.

Pro tip — if your return is selected for scrutiny under §143(2), refund is held till scrutiny completes. RTI question #5 (rectification/re-processing) reveals this. Avoids unnecessary chasing.

Yes — and IT department is unusually responsive to well-framed RTIs because of CIC's stricter stance on financial accountability.

File RTI to CPIO, Income Tax Department, CPC Bengaluru (NOT your jurisdictional AO — CPC handles refunds):

1. Status of refund for PAN XXX for AY 2023-24, exact stage and date last updated 2. Reason for delay beyond 60 days of intimation u/s 143(1) 3. Interest accrued u/s 244A till date 4. Officer in-charge / name of designated officer for this return 5. Whether any rectification / re-processing is pending

In parallel — raise a grievance on the income tax e-filing portal (Grievance > Refund Related). The grievance + RTI together usually triggers action in 2-4 weeks.

Template: https://righttoinformation.wiki/rti-for-income-tax-refund-delay IT-grievance escalation ladder: https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-grievance-escalation

Chapter 12 of The RTI Playbook has worked-through tax-refund cases with sample replies.

Also worth knowing — u/s 244A you're entitled to 0.5% per month interest on delayed refund. Specifically ask for the interest computation. CPC sometimes silently drops the interest, asking puts it back on the table.

Pro tip — if your return is selected for scrutiny under §143(2), refund is held till scrutiny completes. RTI question #5 (rectification/re-processing) reveals this. Avoids unnecessary chasing.