The bitter truth of delay in tax refund, the more the delay, the more the benefit. How to know?

News India Live, Digital Desk: This is absolutely true. In the last few days, many taxpayers noticed that there was a slight delay in receiving their Income Tax Refund. People were worried, asking on social media, “Brother, when will the money come?” But when the message came and he saw the amount, he was surprised. The refund amount was a little more than expected. Better late than never (and better)! Actually, there is a rule of income tax which is very useful for the general public. If you have filed your ITR on time, but there is a delay in sending the refund by the Income Tax Department, then the department has to pay you interest. Understand it like if we are late in filing tax, the government charges us a penalty, similarly if the government is late in returning our money, then it gives us interest. This is called Section 244A. How much extra money do you get? The mathematics is very simple. If your refund is made and the department takes time to process it, then you get interest at the rate of 0.5% per month i.e. 6% per annum. Now just imagine, nowadays savings account hardly gets 3 or 4% interest. But here your money is growing at the rate of 6%. So if your refund is delayed by two-three months, then understand that you have got a small ‘bonus’ for free. But there is a condition… This benefit is available only to those people who have not committed any mistake on their part. That is: You must have filed the return before the due date. The delay must be from the department’s side, not from your side (like incorrect bank details or non-verification). How to check? When you get a refund message or email, check it carefully. It is written in it that how much was your refund amount and how much ‘Interest u/s 244A’ is attached to it. So next time if there is a delay of a week-ten days in getting the refund, then do not panic. Just smile and think “The meter is on, the interest is adding up!”