Defective Return

If you haven't filed the ITR in accordance with the law (failure to submitted associated forms, missed filing schedules, etc) it will be deemed as defective. A notice will be sent to you in this regard and you will be required to rectify the error in 15 days. Failure to do so will result in the IT department treating your ITR filing as invalid.

If the discrepancy involves exceptional complexities that require intervention by a human being, the status will be 'Case transferred to AO,' which means that the case is transferred to an 'Assessing Officer' within your geographical jurisdiction who will process the case. You should wait for the AO to contact you via phone call or email. Make sure your contact details on the e-filing website are correct.

Outstanding tax demand

An ‘outstanding tax demand' status will mean that your tax liability is higher than what you have already paid. An automated email with computer-generated document is sent to the taxpayer as intimation.

The amount is checked by the system without human intervention. When you receive an email regarding the same with a transaction ID, login into the e-filing portal and under the response to status option choose from:

1. Demand is correct
2. Demand is partially correct
3. Disagree with demand
4. Demand is not correct but agree for adjustment

You can pay the outstanding amount online and if you disagree with the amount, you can choose the disagreement option and state your reason.

Refund failed/unpaid

It means that the IT department could not credit the refund amount to your bank account because the details provided by you were incorrect or the address was wrong in case of paper refund. Go to my account> service request> new request> refund reissue. This will help you apply for a refund reissue from the IT department.

Refund not determined

A 'refund not determined' status is issued when the IT department has not processed your refund. Refunds are processed on a first come first serve basis, the earlier you file your returns, the sooner you get the refund.

Ideally, it should tax a few days after verification. The IT department is liable to refund it within a year after the end of the financial year. So for the financial year 2017-18, the IT department can take up to March 2020 to refund the tax amount.