Refund Tracking
Every ITR Status on the Income Tax Portal and What Happens Next
The five ITR statuses the e-Filing portal uses, from pending e-verification to case transferred to Assessing Officer, what each means and the next step for each.
myutils.me8 min read
The e-Filing portal uses five statuses for a filed return: Submitted and pending for e-Verification, Successfully e-Verified, Processed, Defective and Case transferred to Assessing Officer. That list comes from the portal's own ITR status FAQ. Each one tells you who has to act next: you, CPC (the Centralised Processing Centre in Bengaluru) or an Assessing Officer.
The table gives the short answer. The sections after it explain what to do at each stage, using AY 2026-27 (income earned April 2025 to March 2026) as the example.
The five statuses at a glance
| Status | What it means | Who acts next | Your next step |
|---|---|---|---|
| Submitted and pending for e-Verification | Filed, but not e-verified, or the signed ITR-V hasn't reached CPC | You | e-Verify within 30 days of filing |
| Successfully e-Verified | Verified, not yet processed | CPC | Wait; check e-Proceedings and your bank account |
| Processed | CPC has processed the return | You (to read) | Download the 143(1) intimation and compare the figures |
| Defective | CPC found missing information or inconsistencies and issued a notice under section 139(9) | You | Respond to the notice within the time it gives |
| Case transferred to Assessing Officer | CPC has sent the return to your jurisdictional Assessing Officer | The officer | Watch e-Proceedings and your email for contact |
The portal sometimes shows the same status with slightly different words (for example "Verified" instead of "e-Verified" for a return verified by post), and the wording can change. The meaning stays the same.
Where to see the status
After logging in: go to e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns, pick the assessment year and click View Details. This shows the life cycle of the return with a date against each stage. From here you can also download the ITR-V acknowledgement, the filed return and, once processed, the intimation.
Without logging in: use View ITR Status on the portal home page. You need the acknowledgement number from your ITR-V and any valid mobile number for the OTP. This is also how you can check a spouse's or parent's return without their password. See tracking a parent's or spouse's ITR and refund for the other routes.
Submitted and pending for e-Verification
The return has been uploaded, but the department doesn't treat it as complete until it is verified. CPC will not process it.
What happens next: you have 30 days from filing to e-verify (or to send the signed ITR-V by post). Under Notification 2/2024, if you verify after 30 days, the date of verification is treated as the date of filing, and all the consequences of filing late follow.
Example. Ravi uploads his return on 29 July 2026 and forgets to verify it. If he e-verifies on 10 August, he is within 30 days and the return counts as filed on 29 July. If he e-verifies on 5 September, the return counts as filed on 5 September, after the 31 July due date for his ITR-1, and is treated as a belated return. A return that is never verified is treated as not filed.
You can e-verify with an Aadhaar OTP, through net banking, or with an EVC from a pre-validated bank or demat account. The portal accepts a condonation request for a genuine delay in verifying.
Successfully e-Verified
The return is complete and sitting in CPC's queue. There is nothing to do unless CPC asks for something.
What happens next: CPC processes the return and issues an intimation under section 143(1). The portal's refund guide says refunds usually arrive 4 to 5 weeks after e-verification, but many returns take longer. For AY 2026-27 returns filed in 2026, CPC has until 31 December 2027. See how long an e-verified return can wait.
Two things can happen before processing:
- A proposed adjustment. If CPC plans to change your figures, it first sends a communication under section 143(1)(a) and allows 30 days to reply under Pending Actions > e-Proceedings. See the 30-day proposed adjustment notice.
- A defect notice. The status changes to Defective (below).
Processed
CPC has finished processing. The intimation under section 143(1) is CPC's summary: your figures in one column, CPC's in the next. It is emailed to you and can be downloaded from View Filed Returns.
What happens next depends on what the intimation says:
| Result of processing | What it means | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| Refund | CPC accepted a refund (possibly smaller than claimed) | Check the refund status on the same page; see refund status messages |
| Demand | CPC's figures leave tax payable | Pay, or record your disagreement under Pending Actions > Response to Outstanding Demand |
| No demand, no refund | Figures match, nothing payable or refundable | Keep the intimation with your records |
If the demand comes from tax you already paid but CPC didn't credit, read received a tax demand after paying. The differences between this intimation and a scrutiny or reassessment notice are in 143(1) vs 143(2) vs 148.
Processed is not the end in every case. A return can still be picked for scrutiny under section 143(2) within the time the law allows, and you can still file a rectification or, while the window is open, a revised return.
Defective
CPC has found that essential information is missing or inconsistent, and has issued a notice under section 139(9). A common example is business income reported without the balance sheet details the form requires.
What happens next: respond within the time limit in the notice, under Pending Actions > e-Proceedings, either by accepting the defect and filing a corrected return or by disagreeing with reasons. The FAQ is blunt about the alternative: if you don't respond, the return is treated as invalid and is not processed, as though you had never filed it.
Case transferred to Assessing Officer
CPC has sent your return to your jurisdictional Assessing Officer (AO). The FAQ says only that the officer will contact you for the details needed.
What happens next: watch Pending Actions > e-Proceedings and your registered email. Any refund now depends on the officer, not CPC. See what "case transferred to Assessing Officer" means for your refund.
Which law applies
Everything above is for AY 2026-27 and earlier, which are processed under the Income-tax Act, 1961, even though the Income-tax Act, 2025 has applied since 1 April 2026. Returns for Tax Year 2026-27, filed in 2027, are the first under the new Act; the 143(1) intimation becomes an intimation under section 270(1).
Seeing every return's status at once
myutils.me is an independent app that signs in to the portal for each PAN you add and lists the status of every return by assessment year, using the portal's own wording. It refreshes when you add a PAN or press Sync, and does not send alerts, so check e-Proceedings on the portal for notices.
FAQ
What are the different ITR statuses on the income tax portal?
Five: Submitted and pending for e-Verification, Successfully e-Verified, Processed, Defective, and Case transferred to Assessing Officer. The portal's ITR status FAQ defines each.
My status says "Submitted and pending for e-Verification". Is my return filed?
It is uploaded but not complete. e-Verify it within 30 days of filing. If you verify later, the verification date becomes the filing date, and a return never verified is treated as not filed.
What does "Processed" mean for my refund?
CPC has processed the return and issued an intimation under section 143(1). If the intimation shows a refund, its status appears under View Details on the same page.
Can I check ITR status without logging in?
Yes. Use View ITR Status on the portal home page with the acknowledgement number and any valid mobile number.
What happens if I ignore a Defective status?
The return is treated as invalid and is not processed. Respond to the section 139(9) notice within the time it gives.
Sources
Topics
- ITR Status
- Section 143(1)
- Section 139(9)
- AY 2026-27
- e-Verification
- Tax Filing
- Income Tax Notice
- Belated Return
myutils.me
Written by the team behind myutils.me, a free, independent app that brings ITR status, refunds and AIS/TIS for each PAN into one dashboard. Check anything important against the Income Tax portal before you act on it.
