Updated Guidelines for e-Pay Tax Service: Challan Validity and Refund Process

The Income Tax Department's e-Pay Tax service provides a comprehensive platform for direct tax payments. Recent clarifications emphasize crucial aspects of Challan Reference Number (CRN) validity, available payment modes, and the process for handling mistakenly paid tax amounts.

Challan Validity and Extension

• A generated Challan (CRN) is typically valid for 15 days from its creation date. Payment must be initiated within this period, or the CRN will expire, requiring a fresh generation.
• For Advance Tax Challans generated on or after March 16th, the validity is by default set to March 31st of that Financial Year.
• If a taxpayer opts for the 'Pay at Bank Counter' mode and presents the payment instrument (e.g., cheque) to an authorized bank before the CRN expiry, the Challan's validity period is automatically extended by an additional 90 days.

Payment Modes and Process

After generating a CRN, taxpayers have various options for making tax payments:

• Net Banking: Available through select Authorized Banks.
• Debit Card: Of select Authorized Banks.
• Pay at Bank Counter (OTC): Cash, cheque, or demand draft at branches of select Authorized Banks (not for companies or audited persons).
• RTGS/NEFT: Through any bank having this facility.
• Payment Gateway: Offers sub-payment modes including Net Banking, Debit Card, Credit Card, and UPI of any bank.

It is mandatory to generate the Challan (CRN) through the e-Filing portal for all direct tax payments. Manual challans are not permitted for payments made through the e-Pay Tax service.

Handling Mistaken Payments and Refunds

The e-Filing portal does not directly process requests for refund or reversal of erroneously paid challan amounts. Taxpayers are advised to:

• Claim the amount as a tax credit in their Income Tax Return (ITR) for the relevant Assessment/Tax Year.
• Submit a request to their jurisdictional Assessing Officer (AO) for a refund or adjustment of the mistakenly paid tax.