TDS stands for Tax Deducted at Source.

It is the tax amount that the government collects

directly from the recipient’s income immediately when it is earned. The TDS is deducted at a

certain percentage. As per the IT Act, an individual or any company can deduct this tax at the

source of income if the payment for any goods or services crosses a certain amount.

The Government decides the TDS rates and thresholds for different types of goods and services

for a particular financial year.

The services include the following:

• Royalty

• Technical services

• Legal fees

• Consulting

• Rent, etc.

In a transaction where TDS is applicable, the person or firm receiving the payment is called the

deductee. On the other hand, the individual or business deducting TDS from the payment is

called a deductor.

Take a look at the TDS rates for some payment types:

An income tax refund is an amount returned by the government to a taxpayer. The need to
provide a refund arises when the tax liability of the taxpayer is less than the taxes paid. The
question of making a refund arises in cases where the amount of tax paid by a person is greater
than the amount which the assessee is legally obliged to pay. Refund of tax is usually dealt with
at the end of the year. In this article, we discuss the process of claiming a refund.

Eligibility for Income Tax Refund

In the specified cases, the individual would be eligible for a refund of Income Tax. The
following are the qualifying criterion:

• In case the amount paid towards tax in view of self-assessment exceeds the actual amount
payable
• In case the tax deducted at source (TDS) from remuneration, interest on securities,
debentures or dividends exceeds the tax payable in view of regular assessment
• In case the tax charged is being reduced due to an error in the assessment process and it
has now resolved
• The Government of India must have an agreement to avoid double-taxation, in scenarios
where the same income is simultaneously taxed in India and another country
• If the taxpayer has speculations which provide tax benefits and deductions that the
assessee has not declared in the return of income

Claiming Refund
It is necessary that the Income Tax refund has to be claimed on time. This could be done
by filing the income tax return online through the official website. Generally, the due date for
income tax return filing is July 31st every year unless the taxpayer has to obtain tax audit or the
due date is extended by the Income Tax Department.

Online Income Tax Refund Status Check

We can check the status of income tax refund via two ways namely:

• Income tax e-filing website

• TIN NSDL website

On the e-filing website

To check the status of Income Tax refund, the taxpayer must follow the steps mentioned below:

• Visit the official income tax website: www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

• Log on to your account by entering these details: PAN, password, date of birth and
captcha code.
• Click on ‘View Returns/Forms’
 • Select ‘Income Tax Returns’ from the drop-down menu and choose the relevant
assessment year for which you want to check the income tax refund status.
• Click on your acknowledgement number, which is a hyperlink.
• A pop-up will appear on your screen that will show the timeline of filing of returns such
as date and time of filing and verification of ITR, date of completion of processing, date
of issue of refund etc. It will also show information such as assessment year, status, the
reason for failure, if any, and mode of payment.

Refund Re-Issue Request

The following steps can be followed in case of re-issuing refund due to errors in processing:

1. Visit income tax e-filing website: www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in

2. Click on ‘My Account’ tab and choose the ‘Service Request’ option.
3. Choose request type as ‘New Request’ and request category as ‘Refund Reissue’.
4. A new screen would appear showing details such as PAN, return type, assessment year,
acknowledgement number, communication reference number, and response.
5. Click on ‘Submit’.
6. The system would immediately prompt to submit the taxpayers Bank and address information.
7. The application will then further pass through a verification process using an electronic
verification code (EVC) or digital signature certificate (DSC), after which the process will be
completed.

Delays in Refund
Delays in refund would be compensated with an interest rate of 6% p.a by the Income Tax
Department. Interest on refund amount is calculated from the date of payment of tax to the date
of actual payment of the refund. It’s vital that the interest is payable only if the amount of tax
refund due is more than 10% of the tax payable by the taxpayer. However, the interest amount
for the period will not be paid by the Income Tax Department if the delay is caused by the
taxpayer.