Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
Filing is the refund mechanism
There is no separate ‘refund application’. When you file your return, it reconciles the tax you actually owe against the TDS already deducted — and any excess is refunded automatically. For NRIs this is common, because TDS rates (30% on NRO interest, or 12.5%+ on a property sale) are often higher than the final tax.
Steps, with an example
- Confirm the TDS appears in your Form 26AS / AIS.
- Compute your real tax and file ITR-2.
- Pre-validate a bank account so the refund can be paid.
Example: NRO interest of ₹5 lakh suffers about ₹1.5 lakh TDS (30%), but your slab tax is only ₹1 lakh — the ₹50,000 difference is refunded with interest under Section 244A.
Why refunds sometimes get stuck
The usual reasons are TDS not showing in 26AS (the deductor didn’t file the return — common when a property buyer skips Form 27Q), an un-validated bank account, or a mismatch between your return and the AIS. Fix these first. A DTAA can also reduce the TDS upfront so there is less to reclaim.