Ghaziabad: A district consumer commission has directed HDFC Bank’s Rohini branch to refund Rs 70,000 to a Vasundhara resident after the amount, deducted from his account for payment of tax deducted at source (TDS) on the purchase of a property, was not returned despite repeated requests. The district consumer disputes redressal commission also ordered the bank to pay 6% annual interest on the amount and Rs 10,000 as compensation for the complainant’s mental and financial hardship.The order was passed on Sept 23 by the commission president Anil Kumar Pundir and members Shailja Sachan and RP Singh, who held the bank “deficient in its service”.The complainant, Deep Chandra Bhatt, had approached the commission on May 21 last year, saying he had purchased a flat in Vasundhara in April 2023 and was required to deposit Rs 70,000 as TDS. According to his complaint, Bhatt made the payment through his HDFC Bank account on May 26, 2023. Although Rs 70,000 was debited from his account, he later received an email from income tax department informing him that the transaction was on hold as the bank had not responded to its request.With the first payment unresolved, Bhatt made another payment of Rs 70,000 from his ICICI Bank account on May 29. That transaction went through successfully.Bhatt then sought a refund from HDFC Bank. In a response dated June 20, 2023, HDFC Bank told him it had contacted income tax department and that the transaction had been successfully updated.Bhatt said he subsequently contacted both the bank and IT department and lodged complaints with HDFC Bank on June 23, 2023, and again on June 30 and July 8, 2024. He also sent several emails and messages and later issued a legal notice on Sept 25, 2024. Despite these efforts, he said, the Rs 70,000 had not been credited to his account.The commission issued notices to HDFC Bank, but the bank did not appear or file a response. On July 8, 2025, the commission decided to proceed against it ex parte. After examining Bhatt’s affidavit and supporting documents, the commission said the records established that the Rs 70,000 had been deducted from his HDFC account on May 26, 2023, while the TDS was subsequently deposited successfully through his ICICI account.The commission noted that there was no refund certificate on record. It also said HDFC Bank had failed to provide evidence showing that the amount deducted from Bhatt’s account had either reached IT department or been returned to him. “Therefore, the evidence presented by the complainant is not refuted,” the commission said, holding the bank responsible for deficiency in service.
