Section 238 of ITA, 1961 : Section 238: Person Entitled To Claim Refund In Certain Special Cases

Explanation using Example

Imagine a parent, who has a minor child, earns interest from a fixed deposit in the child's name. According to the Income-tax Act, this interest income is included in the parent's total income because the child is a minor. When the income tax return is filed, it turns out that excess tax has been paid on this interest income. In this scenario, it is the parent (and not the child) who is entitled to claim a refund for the overpaid tax, as per Section 238(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, since the child's income was included in the parent's total income.