Income Tax Notice: How to request for resending Intimation Order u/s 143 (1) TAX CONCEPT

Letter of intimation u/s 143(1): 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 as 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, system generates the intimation under Section 143(1) that generally indicates obvious errors that the mainframe system has identified.

When does one receive an Intimation under Section 143(1)

If taxpayer has paid excess tax then it mentions tax refund. Refund is only initiated if amount is over INR 100.
If tax paid by taxpayer has fallen short, then it mentions the amount and a challan to make the payment.
Simple acknowledgment if the ITR filed by 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, 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 centralised processing of returns with a view to expeditiously determining 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 and enabled 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 intimation sent under Section 143(1) in detail to make it help taxpayers deal with such intimation with ease.

What is the password for intimation under Section 143(1)?

The intimation received under Section 143(1) is password protected. The ITR intimation password will be your PAN (in lowercase) followed by date of birth in DDMMYYYY format without giving any space.

For example: Assuming your PAN is ABCDE1234E and the date of birth is 01/01/2000, the password to open the intimation will be “abcde1234e01012000”.

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 specified due date
- Disallowance of expenditure indicated in the audit report but not indicated in the return of income.

Action to be taken by the taxpayer after receiving a 143(1)

As a first step, review certain things in Section 143(1) intimation to ensure document pertains to your return itself and data provided pertain to the same financial year as mentioned in Section 143(1) intimation.
Check the name, PAN, address, assessment year for which notice has been sent, e-filing acknowledgement number.
In case you are able to identify the mistakes you have made while filing your return from the 143(1) intimation, and they can be rectified by filing a revised return, please do so by logging into income tax e-filing website. Please refer our article on how you can go about revising your return online.
However, if no mistakes have been made and you do not agree with the adjustments made by CPC/computerised system, you can file an online rectification application under Section 154(1) intimating the correction of mistake appearing in the Section 143(1) intimation. Refer our article on filing rectification application.
Also, submit your response in the e-filing portal where there is a tax demand- whether you agree or disagree with the same.
In case you are not satisfied with the processing of your rectification return by CPC, you can also file online grievances or contact your assessing officer. In case of no satisfactory action from CPC/assessing officer, you can file a complaint to income tax ombudsman.

However, if taxpayer agrees to the tax demand raised by income tax department after carrying out adjustments as above, taxpayer is required to pay such taxes. Refer our article on OLTAS challan payment on how to pay taxes. However, while paying tax on demand raised under this Section, please choose ‘Tax on regular assessment (400)’ under ‘Type of payment’ field in the challan.
If you wish to pay challan physically, the pre-filled challan is attached with the intimation as below.

After filing your income tax returns, the Income Tax Department conducts a computerized preliminary assessment. This assessment involves checking for arithmetical errors in tax calculations, internal inconsistencies, and verifying tax payments. If there is a mismatch between the tax exemptions reported in your IT return document and those shown in Form 16, you may receive a letter of intimation under Section 143(1).

It’s important to note that this initial evaluation is automated and doesn’t involve any checks by income tax officials. Once the Income Tax Return is processed by CPC (Centralized Processing Center), you will receive an intimation at your registered email ID.

Typically, you receive an intimation order under Section 143(1) if there is any demand for that particular assessment year. The intimation will provide information about the details of mismatch in TDS or tax paid. The tax department will inform taxpayers about this through their registered email ID. The intimation will specify either the sum determined to be payable or the amount of refund due to the taxpayer.

If you need to request a resend of the Intimation order, you can follow this step-by-step guide:

HOW TO REQUEST FOR RESENDING INTIMATION ORDER U/S 143 (1):

Log in to the ‘e-Filing’ Portal at www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in.
Navigate to the ‘My Account’ menu and click on ‘Service Request.
Choose ‘New Request’ as the ‘Request Type.’
Select ‘Intimation u/s 143(1)154/16(1)/35’ as the ‘Request Category,’ and click ‘Submit.
Provide the necessary details as requested and click on ‘Submit.
After submitting the request, you can check the status.

One can also check the status of the request under “My Request List” tab in your account. You will receive confirmation on the same and you will receive intimation to your mail ID in 5-6 working days.