My refund was approved but never arrived. What do I do?
Bank pre-validation failures stop a refund after it is approved. A step-by-step checker for the actual reason and fix.
Nothing here asks for your PAN
Figures checked against the official source on 13 August 2026. Income Tax Department, My Bank Account FAQ This is an estimate for guidance, not a statement of what you owe.
Why a processed refund still doesn't arrive
Income tax refunds only go to a bank account that's both pre-validated and linked to your PAN. The department relies entirely on the details stored in the e-filing portal, and any mismatch, in the name, the IFSC, or the account number, fails the credit attempt rather than delaying it indefinitely. The return being marked as processed with a refund due says nothing about whether the bank account behind it will actually accept the money.
What people get wrong about this
Assuming the refund will simply retry itself once the account is fixed. It won't, a Refund Reissue Request has to be filed explicitly, the correction to your bank details alone doesn't trigger a new attempt.
Using an old passbook or cheque leaf to enter IFSC details. Bank mergers have changed a meaningful number of IFSC codes over the past few years, and a stale code fails validation even though the account itself is completely fine.
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