An income tax return can be either filed voluntarily under Section 139 or on demand by the income tax department under Section 142(1). It is necessary to understand what happens after the taxpayer has filed the return of income.
The process of examining the return filed by the taxpayer by the income tax department is termed assessment. The IT department carries out a preliminary assessment of all the returns filed and informs taxpayers of the result of such preliminary assessment. This assessment primarily includes arithmetical errors, internal inconsistencies, tax calculation and verification of tax payment. The preliminary evaluation process is fully computerised (automated), and is delegated to the Central Processing Centre (CPC).
Thereafter, the system generates the intimation under Section 143(1), which generally indicates obvious errors identified by the mainframe system.
When Does One Receive an Intimation u/s 143(1)?
Every assessee shall receive the intimation under section 143(1) upon successful processing of the return.
As mentioned above, it is an automated system-driven process that verifies the arithmetical accuracy, information available with the department, details available in return, and the provision of income tax law, and it generates the comparison report. Such an automated process eliminates the manual job of the income tax officer to a great extent.
- If a taxpayer has paid excess tax, then it mentions tax refund. A refund will be issued only if the amount is more than Rs.100.
- If the tax paid by the taxpayer has fallen short, it mentions the amount of demand and a challan to make the payment.
- It’s a simple acknowledgement that the ITR filed by the taxpayer is consistent as per the Assessing Officer.
Centralized Processing Center
With the rapid increase in the number of income tax returns and a jurisdiction-based processing model for all the returns filed, the tax department faced problems leading to delayed processing of income tax returns.
Therefore, the Finance Act, 2008 empowered the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) to make a scheme for the centralised processing of returns with a view to expeditiously determine the tax payable by, or the refund due to the taxpayers. Based on the recommendations of the Technical Advisory Group, the department adopted the strategy that CPC at Bangalore would process paper and e-returns without any interface with taxpayers and in a jurisdiction free manner.
CPC project envisaged benefits for the citizens as well as the tax department. For citizens, it led to faster and hassle-free preliminary processing of their returns and also relieved the department from the burden of preliminary assessment that can be computerised, enabling them to concentrate on hardcore activities.
Any communication from the income tax department creates panic for taxpayers. However, Section 143(1) intimation is not something one needs to worry about. In this article, we would be discussing the intimation sent under Section 143(1) in detail to help taxpayers easily deal with such intimation.
Preliminary Assessment Under 143(1)
Initial processing of returns by CPC is completely automated and Section 143(1) Intimation is also a computer generated record. CPC validates data provided in each tax return with details available with the income tax department’s own record (such as Form 26AS generated through details provided by collecting banks, TDS returns, etc.) and this notice usually only points out apparent mistakes found out by the mainframe system.
- Once the return is filed, total income or loss is recomputed by the computerised system as per the department’s record and provides a comparison with data filed by the taxpayer
- The intimation has two columns: ‘As provided by the taxpayer in the Return of Income’ and ‘As computed under Section 143 (1)
- Comparison is made for major categories such as
- Income under various heads,
- Gross total income,
- Deductions under Chapter VIA (80C, 80D, etc.), and
- Tax deducted at source, and tax paid by taxpayers in the form of advance tax and self assessment tax
- Appropriate adjustments are made to income as computed under Section 143(1) and final tax liability or refund is arrived at
- The adjustments are carried out only after giving an intimation to the taxpayer of the proposed adjustments either in writing or electronic mode i.e., to the email id provided in the income tax return filed
- Response received from the taxpayer within 30 days from the issuance date of intimation will be considered before making the final adjustment and in case no response is received within such period, adjustments arrived at initially will be incorporated.
- After arriving at final tax liability, the same is adjusted against TDS and tax payments and other relief under Section 90/91, if any.
- An intimation shall be prepared and sent to the taxpayer.
Kind of intimations possible are discussed below:- Intimation with no demand or no refund – This generally happens if the department has accepted the return as filed without carrying out any adjustments to it.
- Intimation determining demand – Issued in case of adjustments made under Section 143(1) due to a discrepancy found and tax liability is arrived at.
- Intimation determining refund – Issued where any tax is found to be refundable either where no discrepancy in the return filed or after making adjustments as referred to in Section 143(1) and after giving credit to the taxes and interest paid by the taxpayer.
- While demand notice is sent in case of final tax liability, refunds if any shall be granted to the taxpayer.
Nature of Adjustments Under 143(1)
Total income or loss is computed under Section 143(1) after making the following adjustments:
- Arithmetical error in the return
- Any incorrect claim which is apparent from any information in the return where incorrect claim which may include the following:
- The claim of an item in the return which is inconsistent with another entry of the same or some other item in such return – for example, income from other sources are deducted from business income but not declared under income from other sources.
- Disallowance of set-off of loss in the financial year which is carried forward from previous years in which return was filed beyond the specified due date
- Disallowance of expenditure is indicated in the audit report but not indicated in the return of income.
Time Limit for Issue of 143(1)
Section 143(1) intimation has to be sent within nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return is being filed. For eg: if the taxpayer has filed return pertaining to the financial year 2023-24 in July 2024, intimation can be sent any time till 31 December 2025. If a taxpayer does not receive any intimation within such period, it simply means there are no adjustments carried out to the return filed by the taxpayer and no change in tax liability/refund, and the acknowledgement filed itself is deemed to be Section 143(1) intimation.
ITR filing: The article discusses the procedure for responding to an income tax demand notice. It provides a step-by-step guide for taxpayers to access and respond to the demand notice online. The options for responding to the demand notice are outlined, including details for each option such as providing additional information and submitting required documents. The FAQ section addresses common queries related to outstanding tax demands, responses, and payment methods. It also provides information on how to view past responses and regenerate challans.
If a taxpayer’s income tax return is in conflict with the assessment made by an Income Tax Officer, the taxpayer will be issued an income tax demand notice. Income tax demand notice is issued if the taxpayer has deposited lesser tax than what the assessee is liable to pay. In this article, we look at the procedure for responding to an income tax demand notice.
Your jurisdictional Income Tax Officer (ITO) will upload the Demand Notice online. You can access the content of this notice by logging into your e-filing account on the website www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in, where you can record your responses.
Step-by-Step Guide to Respond to a Demand Notice
Step 1: Log in to your e-filing account on www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in with your user ID and password.
Step 2: Click on ‘E-file’ and go to ‘Respond to Outstanding Tax Demand’.
You will see the following details displayed-
- Assessment year
- Section code
- Demand notification number
- Date on which demand is raised
- Outstanding demand amount
- Uploaded by
- Rectification rights
- Response – submit and view
Step 3: Click on ‘Submit’ for the relevant assessment year. Choose one of the options mentioned below-
- Demand is correct
- Demand is partially correct
- Disagree with demand
What are the options to respond to Demand Notice
Option 1 – Demand is correct
Step 1: When you select this option, a pop-up screen appears with the message ‘If you confirm, demand is correct then you can’t disagree with the demand’.
Step 2: Click on the ‘Submit’ button.
Step 3: A success message will be displayed.
Step 4: If a refund is due, the outstanding amount and the interest will be adjusted against the refund due. Otherwise, you must pay the demand immediately.
Read about how to pay your tax demand
Option 2 – Demand is partially correct
Step 1: You will see two fields to enter a correct and incorrect amount.
Step 2: Once you enter the amount in the fields, you must choose a reason for stating the department’s calculation to be partially correct.
- Demand has already been paid: Provide the Challan Identification Number (CIN). Also mention the BSR code, date of payment, the serial number of challan and amount. You can also add your comments under ‘remarks.’ If CIN is unavailable, mention that the demand has been paid by challan and CIN is unavailable. Also, mention the date of payment, amount, and remarks (your comments), if any.
- Demand has already been reduced by rectification/revision – Provide the date of order, demand amount, and details of jurisdictional ITO who has rectified. Next, upload the rectification/appeal effect order passed by the ITO.
- Demand has already been reduced by appellate order but appeal effect has to be given by the department – Provide the date of order and the appellate order passed by (details of appellate authority, and the reference number of order).
- Appeal has been filed and stay petition has been filed, or stay has been granted by, or instalment has been granted by – Provide the date of filing of the appeal, appeal pending with appellate authority e.g., CIT(A) or ITAT, stay petition filed with details of the office. If the stay has been granted, you must also upload a copy of the stay order.
- Rectification/revised return has been filed at CPC – In addition, please furnish the following details.
- Filing type
- E-filed acknowledgement number
- Remarks (comments, if any of the taxpayer)
- Upload challan copy
- Upload the TDS certificate
- Upload letter requesting rectification copy
- Upload indemnity bond
- Rectification has been filed with the assessing officer – Mention the date of application and remarks (comments, if any of the taxpayer).
Option 3 – Disagree with the Demand
Step 1: Upon choosing this option, you must provide details of why you disagree with the department’s call.
Step 2: You must also provide reasons for your disagreement from the available options.
Step 3: Submit your response to view a success screen with a transaction ID.
Step 4: You can revisit the response when you click on ‘View’ under the ‘Response’ tab.
Step 5: You can view the serial number, transaction ID, date of response, and response type will be displayed.
Additional Documents to be Submitted
Any taxpayer who chooses the “Demand is Partially Correct” option would have to provide additional information as provided below:
| Reason Demand is Partially Correct | Additional Information |
| Demand paid and challan has CIN | BSR CodeDate of paymentSerial NumberAmountRemarks |
| Demand paid and challan has no CIN | Date of paymentAmountRemarksUpload Copy of Challan |
| Demand already reduced by rectification / Revision | Date of OrderDemand after rectification/ revisionDetails of AOUpload Rectification / Giving appeal effect order passed by AO |
| Demand already reduced by Appellate Order but appeal effect to be given | Date of OrderOrder passed byReference Number of Order |
| Appeal has been filed: Stay petition has been filed | Date of filing of appealAppeal Pending withStay petition filed with |
| Appeal has been filed: Stay has been granted | Date of filing of appealAppeal Pending withStay granted byUpload copy of Stay |
| Appeal has been filed: Instalment has been granted | Date of filing of appealAppeal Pending withInstalment granted byUpload copy of stay/instalment order |
| Rectification / Revised Return filed at CPC | Filing Typee-Filed Acknowledgement No.RemarksUpload Challan CopyUpload TDS CertificateUpload Letter requesting rectification copyUpload Indemnity Bond |
Read more at: Section 143 (1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961
Respond to Outstanding Demand FAQ
1. Why do I need to submit response to an outstanding demand?
The Income Tax Department may find some Outstanding Tax demand against your PAN. In order to confirm if the stated demand is correct, an opportunity is given to you to respond. If you do not respond to it, the demand will be confirmed and will be adjusted against your refund (if any) or show as demand payable against your PAN ( in case, no refund is due).
2. How do I know if there is any outstanding demand pending against my PAN?
You can check if there is any outstanding demand through the e-Filing portal. Log in to e-Filing portal and click Pending Actions > Response to Outstanding Demand and you will be taken to Response to outstanding demand page. If there are demands outstanding against your PAN, the current status against each of the past / existing outstanding demands will be updated as Pending payment / Response. Accordingly, you can click Pay Now / Submit Response. Additionally, you will receive a message on your email ID and mobile number registered on the e-Filing portal.
3. What can I do if I disagree with the amount of outstanding demand?
You can choose Disagree with demand (Either in Full or Part). After you select the option, you need to select from the list of reasons for which you disagree with the amount of demand. After you have selected from the list, you would need to provide details for each of the reasons before you submit your response. In case you partially disagree with the demand, you should pay the portion of the demand which is undisputed (i.e. with which you agree).
4. What can I do if the reason of disagreement with the outstanding demand is not listed?
You can select Others as a reason after you choose Disagree with demand (Either in Full or Part). After selection, you can enter the details for your reason and the applicable amount not payable under the mentioned reason.
5. Where can I view the past responses I submitted?
After you log in to e-Filing portal, click Pending Actions > Response to Outstanding Demand and you will be to the Response to outstanding demand page. Among the list of past and the existing outstanding demands click on View against the particular demand. You will only be able to see the View option for the demands for which you have already submitted at least one response.
6. While selecting reasons in Response to Outstanding Demand page, I am getting the message – No records found for revised/rectified return for the assessment year. What can I do?
Please try again. If the problem persists, please validate the Acknowledgement no. received after submission of your Rectification / Revised Return request.
7. How do I pay the outstanding tax demand?
You can make payment of your Income Tax Demand through the e-Filing portal in the following ways:
- Directly pay tax by clicking the Pay Now option for the respective DRN (Demand Reference Number) on the Response to Outstanding Demand page; or
- Using the Pay Now option while submitting the response to the outstanding demand (in case you agree or you partially agree with the outstanding demand).
8. What are the different ways in which I can make payment?
You can make payment through the e-Filing portal. You can use the following online methods to make tax payment:
- Net-banking; or
- Debit Card; or
- Payment Gateway (using Credit Card/Debit Card of Non-Authorized Banks/Net Banking of Non-Authorized Bank/UPI)
You can use the following offline methods to make tax payment:
- NEFT / RTGS (the Mandate Form generated may be submitted to the bank or used for online transfer using Net-banking); or
- Pay over the Counter (through Cash / Cheque / Demand Draft).
Refer to the Make Payment Online and Make Payment Offline user manual to learn more.
9. What if I do not have the copy of the challan to be attached? Where can I find it?
You can reprint / regenerate your challan from your respective bank account using Net Banking or visiting the bank branch.
Read more at: Income Tax: How to respond to an intimation under Section 245 of Income Tax Act