Taxpayers face long refund delays: FY25 sees steep 38% drop in payouts, slow processing

Delays in income tax refunds have become a major pain point for taxpayers in FY 2024–25, with a significant slowdown visible across categories—especially high-value claims. Many individuals say even basic returns are taking far longer than usual to move through the processing cycle. Official data underscores the scale of the problem: personal income tax refunds issued up to early November fell to ₹88,548 crore, sharply lower than ₹1.42 lakh crore in the same period last year, marking a 38% year-on-year drop. Advertisement

Tax practitioners attribute the slump to a combination of delayed ITR form releases, tighter verification rules, and processing bottlenecks at the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) in Bengaluru. Officials indicate that while smaller refunds are being cleared relativel