Every year we all file income tax returns (ITR) but most of us are not sure about how the process of claiming income tax refund works. For the FY 2018-19, the last date of ITR filing has been extended by a month from July 31, 2019 to August 31, 2019. 

You are eligible to receive income tax refund when you have paid more tax to the government than your actual tax liability. This usually happens when the advance tax, self-assessment tax paid or TDS deducted of the taxpayer is higher than the total tax liability of a taxpayer. 

Process to claim Income Tax Refund 
A person can claim the refund of the excess tax paid/deducted during a financial year by filing his or her income tax returns for that year. 

As per the Income Tax Act, a person is required to file his/her return in the relevant assessment year by July 31 (unless deadline extended) to claim the refund. The FY immediately succeeding a financial year is the relevant assessment year (AY) for that FY. 

A person can file his/her return either by uploading the filled excel/java utility form or by providing the required data in the online forms (Only for those eligible to file ITR 1 or ITR 4 form). 

This year, tax department has started providing pre-filled ITRs on the online platform. The ITR form is filled with information regarding salary income, interest income (in case TDS is deducted) and other details. If you are filing ITR using Excel utility, then you can download XML file to pre-fill your ITR.