26% of income tax returns are yet to be processed, is your ITR among them? Find out why

The 20 days it took for the IT department to process more than 70% of ITRs is however, much more than the 11 days it took in 2023

The Income Tax Department processed 73.71% of all verified income tax returns (ITRs) as of August 22, 2024, which added up to 5,25,53,097 ITRs out of 7,13,00,901 verified ITRs, according to an Economic Times report. This means that 26.29% of the ITRs are yet to be processed.

The Income Tax Department processed 73.71% of all verified income tax returns (ITRs) as of August 22, 2024 (Pexels)

The 20 days it took for the IT department to process more than 70% of transactions is however, much more than the 11 days it took in 2023, according to the report, which added that it was 93 days in 2013.

What does it mean if your ITR has not been processed yet?

• Errors and incomplete information: ITRs with errors, incomplete information, or even inconsistencies, such as when there is a mismatch in PAN details or when bank information is incorrect usually get flagged for reviewing, leading to a potential delay in its processing.

• Complex ITR forms. For example, ITR forms like ITR-2 and ITR-3 are more complicated as they are for individuals with multiple income sources, such as business or professional income, capital gains, and foreign assets.
• Scrutiny cases. However, the possibility that it may be a scrutiny case is also less likely, and it may just be a procedural delay.
• Large tax refund claims. If the tax refund claim is especially a large amount, the IT department has to perform even more rigorous checks and balances.
• Normal procedural delays