Filing your Income Tax Return (ITR) is one of your prime duties as a working citizen. Every year, individuals and other persons are required to file ITR, pay taxes to the government and get some amount of refund from the Income Tax Department if eligible. Tax collected is used for maintaining and developing public services and funding government projects.

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Filing an ITR return is a process with multiple steps. After you file your ITR, you may receive an intimation notice from the income tax department. Every taxpayer must read this letter.

What Is The Intimation Notice Sent Under Section 143(1) Of The Income Tax Act?

A notice is dispatched via email to the taxpayer intimating them of any tax liability or refund that they may be eligible for. Since the matching of tax returns filed by you with the information present with the IT department, this notice is sent if there are errors in calculation.

This letter is to be sent within 9 months from the date of filing of return by the taxpayer.

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When Is The Intimation Notice Sent Under Section 143(1) Of The Income Tax Act?

There are three scenarios in which an individual may receive an intimation notice from the IT department. The IT Department is obligated to send this notice within 9 months from the date of filing the return. It is served in the following scenarios:

• Refunds owed to the taxpayer but the Income Tax Department made some alterations:

In this case, the notice will reflect that you owe no tax and neither are you eligible to receive any. These alterations are made to match the information possessed by the Income Tax department.

• Additional Tax Notice:

In this case, the IT department notifies you that you need to pay additional tax as per their calculations. This could arise due to misreporting of income, or falsely claimed deductions.

• Income Tax Refund Notice:

In this case, where an individual has not demanded any refund but a refund is owed to them, the IT department sends a notice indicating that you are being refunded an amount of tax paid.

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How To Open Intimation Notice Sent Under Section 143(1)?

The intimation notice comes in the form of an email and can only be opened with a password.

The password to open the intimation notice received by you is your PAN number in lowercase along with your date of birth. So if your PAN number is xxxxx, your password will be xxxxxDDMMYYYY.

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What To Do After You Receive Intimation Notice?

After you receive the intimation notice, read it carefully and match the income computed by the IT department along with the income submitted by you. The notice will contain a detail of your income information. It will also indicate if you are owed any refund or if you owe any additional tax.

After you receive the notice, prepare a response providing appropriate explanations and supporting documents, or corrections.

Submit this at the earliest or within the deadline, either online through the income tax e-filing portal or by physically visiting a designated office.

You should also maintain proof depicting your submission. The Income Tax Office will update you about what you may need to do next or accept your justifications.

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Conclusion

Filing your ITR correctly is very important. This will prevent you from attracting any attention from the officials towards your accounts. Paying tax responsibly is a duty every citizen must undertake. You must also report any fraud or concerning behaviour around you.

For more information, queries or grievances, call the Income Tax Department at 18001030025 or 18004190025.