The Income Tax Department has brought relief to taxpayers. The department has cleared the way for reprocessing income tax returns that were previously incorrectly declared invalid. The deadline for processing these returns has now been extended.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) announced this decision on Monday by issuing a circular. The circular stated that many assessees had complained that their income tax returns, filed electronically in a timely and correct manner, were declared invalid by CPC Bengaluru due to technical reasons.
Opportunity Available Until Extended Deadline
Under this decision, all returns up to Assessment Year 2024-25 that were mistakenly declared invalid by CPC will be reprocessed. Previously, the deadline for processing these returns was December 31, 2024, but the board has now extended it to March 31, 2026.
This means that the returns of taxpayers whose returns were previously declared invalid will be re-examined, and if found correct, they will also be given a refund.
Inadvertent Invalidation Errors
The CBDT received complaints that returns were not considered valid despite being filed due to technical reasons. After investigating these complaints, it emerged that the problem was not the assessee's fault, but rather the returns became invalid due to technical glitches.
The board took this seriously and decided to provide relief to taxpayers in all such cases. Under this, returns whose processing could not be done within the time limit will now be brought under the purview of re-examination.
Refund with Interest to be Provided
The CBDT has clarified that in such cases, applicable interest along with the refund will also be given to the taxpayers. That is, if the refund could not be received due to invalidation, then that amount will now be returned with interest.
This decision has come as a relief for all those assessees who pay their taxes on time but fall victim to technical difficulties.
Only Returns Filed by December 31, 2024, Will Be Included
The benefit of this entire decision will be available only to those taxpayers who had filed their income tax returns by December 31, 2024. If anyone has crossed this date, then they will not come under the purview of this relief.
Also, this will only apply in cases where the invalidation occurred due to a technical error. If the invalidity of the return is due to a user error, then no relief will be given to them from this process.
No Benefit if PAN and Aadhaar are Not Linked
However, the CBDT has also clarified that taxpayers whose PAN and Aadhaar are not linked will not get the benefit of this facility. Under tax law, refunds are not allowed in such cases.
Therefore, taxpayers will have to ensure that their PAN and Aadhaar are linked with each other, only then will they be able to avail the benefits of this relief scheme.
Information to Be Available by March 31, 2026
According to the CBDT, taxpayers whose returns will now be reprocessed will be informed about it by March 31, 2026. After the processing is complete, an update will be given to the concerned taxpayer's registered email and portal.
After receiving this information, taxpayers will not have to submit any additional documents, if everything has already been filed correctly from their end.
Major Relief to Taxpayers
This decision will provide relief to those lakhs of taxpayers who did not receive a refund or whose return could not be processed due to the mistake of CPC Bengaluru.
This step of the board is being considered a taxpayer-friendly decision, because it proves that the government understands the problems of taxpayers and tries to give them timely relief.
Awareness About Technical Difficulties Too
Along with this decision, it is also believed that in the future the Income Tax Department will be more vigilant about technical glitches. This is an important step towards making the tax system more transparent and smooth.
