Who is entitled to a refund

Any person who satisfies the Assessing Officer that the amount of tax paid by him or on his behalf ; or treated as paid by him or on his behalf , for any assessment year exceeds the amount with which he is properly chargeable under the Income-tax Act for that year shall be entitled to a refund of the excess amount.

Who can claim refund

Normally only the assessee is entitled to claim refund. However, in the following cases the refund can be claimed by a person other than the assessee :-

• Where the income of one person is included under any provision of the Income-tax Act in the total income of any other person, the latter alone shall be entitled to a refund in respect of such income.
• Where through death, incapacity, insolvency, liquidation or other cause, a person is unable to claim or receive any refund due to him, his legal representative or the trustee or guardian or receiver, as the case may be, shall be entitled to claim or receive such refund for the benefit of such person or his estate.

Procedure for claiming refund

Every claim for refund should be made in the prescribed form i.e. Form No. 30 and it should be verified in the prescribed manner. The claim of refund should be made within one year from the last day of the relevant assessment year.The delay in filling the claim may be condoned by the Assessing Officer and the claim may be disposed off according to merits, under certain circumstances.

Refund on appeal

• Where, as a result of any order passed in appeal or other proceeding under this Act, refund of any amount becomes due to the assessee, the Assessing Officer shall refund the amount to the assessee without his having to make any claim on that behalf.
• However, if due to the order passed in the appeal, an assessment is set aside or cancelled and an order of fresh assessment is directed to be made, the refund, if any, shall become due only on the making of such fresh assessment.
• Further, if due to the order passed in the appeal the assessment is annulled, the refund shall become due only of the amount, if any, of the tax paid in excess of the tax chargeable on the total income returned by the assesse.

Power to withhold refund

Where refund of any amount becomes due to the assessee as a result of an order under the Income-tax Act or under the provisions of Section 143(1) on the basis of the return of income, the Assessing Officer may withhold the refund till such time as the Commissioner of Income Tax may determine, if he is of the opinion that grant of refund is likely to adversely affect the revenue.

Set off of refund

If any tax or any other demand is outstanding against the assessee for any assessment year, the Assessing Officer has the power to set off the refund due to the assessee against such tax/demand after giving due intimation to him.