Income Tax Refund Delay: Only one day is remaining to file a belated and revised income tax return (ITR), and the income tax department has asked hundreds of taxpayers to file revised ITRs due to a ‘mismatch’ in their original ITR. This has left thousands of ITRs unprocessed for AY25-26, as have conditions like refund claims.
There are still a few cases where the income tax department has not yet issued a final computation.
The last date to file a revised ITR is extremely crucial for taxpayers, but will tax officials face any repercussions? Read on to find out.
Will you get more time to file the revised ITR?
The Centralised Processing Centre income tax department has time until 31 December 2026 to process your ITR for this year.
“Under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, the CPC must process your return and send an intimation within 9 months from the end of the financial year in which the return is filed,” according to Rohit Jain, managing partner at Singhania & Co.
However, taxpayers do not enjoy the same benefits.
Once the 31 December deadline passes, taxpayers do not have the opportunity to file a revised ITR, even though their returns have not been processed by the CPC.
This distinction has caused widespread confusion, as many taxpayers are under the impression that they can file a revised ITR even after the 31 December deadline.
The right to revise your ITR ends on 31 December and is not related to the processing of your return.
How many ITRs are still left to be processed?
According to a report by Moneycontrol, the income tax department has yet to process around 70 lakh ITRs as of 28 December 2025.
In Ay2025-26, 8.4 crore ITRs have been filed. Of these, around 7.8 crore ITRs have already been processed. Taxpayers have filed more than 21 lakh revised ITRs this year, largely due to mismatches and compliance messages from the Income Tax Department.
What happens if you miss the 31 December deadline?
If you miss the 31 December deadline to file a revised ITR, you will no longer be able to revise it.
However, you will still have the option to file an Updated Return u/s 139(8A) for a period of up to four years.
However, the tax and interest paid will be higher under the provisions of section 139(8A), and you cannot use it to claim a refund or reduce tax liability.
