What to do once your Income Tax return is processed by Income tax department? | All about Intimation order u/s 143(1)

Section 139 prescribed condition for a person who are required to file income tax return under the Income tax Act. To read about the conditions CLICK ME.

However, Income Tax Act also prescribes some additional conditions where a person would be required to file income tax return. To read those conditions CLICK ME.

If you are liable to file Income tax return and still have not filed Income tax return, you can book a slot with our experts and get your return filed or book a consultation to know if you have to file income tax return or not. To book an Expert CLICK ME.

Please note that once you have filed the Income Tax return, it is very important to e-verify the return immediately because Income Tax department will take the Income tax return for processing only if the Income Tax return is verified. To know about how to E-verify Income tax return through net banking CLICK ME.

Now, once you have filed the return and e-verified the same let’s understand what is the next step. Income tax department processes the Income tax return u/s 143(1) of the Income tax Act.

Hence, after processing of the income tax return you can receive two types of notice or order from Income tax department: Notice u/s 143(1)(a) or intimation order u/s 143(1).

Let’s first understand what is notice issued u/s 143(1)(a) and how you can respond it. Section 143(1)(a) is a provision wherein the assessee receives the notice about possible adjustment, income tax department wishes to make to the income tax return of the assessee which will result in the increase in income of assessee or reduction of loss. The probable adjustments are mentioned in the provisions below:

“(1) Where a return has been made under section 139, or in response to a notice under sub-section (1) of section 142, such return shall be processed in the following manner, namely:

(a) the total income or loss shall be computed after making the following adjustments, namely:

(i) any arithmetical error in the return

(ii) an incorrect claim, if such incorrect claim is apparent from any information in the return

(iii) disallowance of loss claimed, if return of the previous year for which set off of loss is claimed was furnished beyond the due date specified under sub-section (1) of section 139

(iv) disallowance of expenditure or increase in income indicated in the audit report but not taken into account in computing the total income in the return

(v) disallowance of deduction claimed under 69[section 10AA or under any of the provisions of Chapter VI-A under the heading “C.—Deductions in respect of certain incomes”, if] the return is furnished beyond the due date specified under sub-section (1) of section 139; or

(vi) addition of income appearing in Form 26AS or Form 16A or Form 16 which has not been included in computing the total income in the return

Provided that no such adjustments shall be made unless an intimation is given to the assessee of such adjustments either in writing or in electronic mode

Provided further that the response received from the assessee, if any, shall be considered before making any adjustment, and in a case where no response is received within thirty days of the issue of such intimation, such adjustments shall be made

Provided also that no adjustment shall be made under sub-clause (vi) in relation to a return furnished for the assessment year commencing on or after the 1st day of April, 2018.”

Thus, the assessee needs to respond to such notices within 30 days from the date such notice is issued and if no response is submitted then return will be processed as per the information available. Please note that such notices might not be issued to everyone. To respond to such notices, one needs to login to e-filing website and under Pending Action -> E-proceedings you will find such notice.

Now let us discuss about the intimation order u/s 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, wherein an intimation order is issued by the Income tax department which involves detailed comparison of total income as provided by you in Income tax return and as calculated by the Income tax department.

Earlier intimation could be provided till 1 year from the end of financial year in which income tax return has been filed, now this period has been reduced to 9 months. If an intimation is not received within the said period it can be assumed your returned income has been accepted by the Income tax department i.e. the income provided by you in Income tax return.

Please note intimation order will be issued even in case of a loss.

There are 2 ways to receive/ download Intimation order:

You will get it on your registered e-mail, which is registered on e-filing website. You can check the registered e-mail by logging in to your e-filing website and under the, my profile section you will find primary e-mail id and secondary e-mail id on which intimation order will be sent.
login to e-filing website, go to e-file-> Income tax return-> View filed return and if the intimation has been issued you will find a hyperlink in against the year for which your income tax return was filed and you can directly download the intimation order from there.

Please note that intimation order is a password protected PDF file and to open the intimation order you will need a combination of PAN in small case and your date of birth in case of individual or date or incorporation in case of any other entity.

For eg: Your PAN is “AACPZ1145M” and date of birth is 01.01.2001 so your password would be “aacpz1145m01012001”.

Once you open the intimation order there can be 3 possible outcomes of the intimation order:

You have no refund or demand (written in blue in the e-mail)
You have a demand (Written in red in the e-mail)
You have a refund (Written in green in e-mail)

Action might be required in all the above cases depending on what you have filed in the income tax return and hence it is recommended to get the intimation checked by a Chartered Accountant. Our experts can help you understand your intimation and guide you on how to respond if required.

You can book a consultation with our expert at: Tax Notice/ Personal consultation – Taxontips

If you find any discrepancy in the intimation order issued by Income tax department you will have three options to respond to such discrepancy or difference:

Revise the Income tax return. If the time of filing revised return is available. From AY 2022-23 the due date for filing revised return is till 31st December of the relevant assessment year i.e. for AY 2022-23 due date for filing revised return is 31.12.2022.
File a rectification request before the Income tax department. To raise a rectification request you need to go to Services-> Rectification request. To read more about rectification CLICK HERE: FAQ for filing Rectification request under section 154 on e-filing portal against notice or intimation | E-filing 2.0 – Taxontips
File an Appeal. If you feel there is any discrepancy which cannot be rectified online using the above methods or it is not getting resolved by above methods as in both the above methods, majority time machines are operating and hence in such case you can file an appeal against intimation order u/s 143(1) as intimation order u/s 143(1) is an appealable order as per section 246A of the Income Tax Act.

If you need assistance in any of the above scenario you can take the help of our experts by booking the consultation at: Tax Notice/ Personal consultation – Taxontips

Hope the above post solves all your queries in relation to the intimation order issued by the Income Tax department and now you will not have any issue.

Guidance on above article by:

CA Naman Maloo (C.A., B.Com)
He is currently working as Partner – Direct Tax with a renowned firm in Jaipur having experience in dealing Assessments before Income Tax authority, Tax Audit, International Taxation, Tax planning for NRI, Business planning and consultation.
E-mail: naman.maloo@jainshrimal.in | LinkedIn: Naman Maloo