A defective return notice can be furnished under section 139(9) of Income Tax Act if the return is missing important information or it has been reported wrongly in the ITR.
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Secure & SafeIt often happens that while filing income tax returns, we omit things or commit some mistakes. These mistakes make your return “defective,” and you’re issued a notice of defective return u/s 139(9). Section 139(9) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, states that when a return is found defective, the A.O. gives you a period of 15 days to correct the mistake. The return can be considered defective for one or many reasons, as stated below. In this article, we will discuss the various reasons why you might receive a defective return notice and how to respond to a defective return notice under section 139(9).
Note: Made a mistake in filing your ITR or missed reporting something? A defective return notice under section 139(9) might be on its way. File a revised return now, before the notice arrives. File Revised Return Now!
You can refer to the complete section mapping of Income Tax Act 1961 vs Income Tax Act 2025 here.
When any important information is missing or reported wrongly in the return, it is known as a defective return. In any of the above cases, the income tax department issues an Income Tax defective return notice u/s 139(9) to the taxpayers, intimating them about the same and asking them to correct the inaccuracies present in the return.
You are required to make the necessary corrections in the return within 15 days of receiving the notice. If you fail to correct the ITR on time, it might have certain consequences in the future.
In case incomplete or wrong information has been furnished while filing Income Tax Return, then a notice under section 139(9) of the Income Tax Act is issued to the assessee. You are given a time period of 15 days to reply to this notice. If the assessee fails to respond to the notice, they can ask for an extension of the timeline by writing a letter to the department.
The defective return notice u/s 139(9) is issued via email to your registered email ID. You can also access the income tax defective return notice on the e-filing portal.
Have you received a defective return notice under section 139(9) of the Income Tax? File a revised ITR now to resolve it.
Assesses can receive an income tax defective return notice for various reasons. Some of the major reasons for a defective return notice are listed below -
If you have not filled all the relevant sections, annexures, & columns in the income tax return, it could result in a defective return notice. For example, while claiming deduction u/s 80G, the details in its schedule need to be filled correctly.
Tax, together with interest, if any, is paid before filing the return, and all the details relating to it are not filled in. For example, the BSR code, Date of challan, and challan serial number should be correctly filled in.
Any mismatch in information, for example, the TDS details in the ITR do not match with those in Form 26AS, or the tax actually paid does not match with the tax payable in the Income Tax Return can result in a defective return notice.
In the case of presumptive taxation, if the taxpayer does not provide an accurate computation or fails to provide appropriate disclosure, it can trigger a defective return notice under section 139(9).
You’re required to maintain regular books of account, such as Balance Sheets and Profit and Loss statements, but they have not been filled in the return while filing it.
The tax deducted has been claimed as a refund, but the corresponding income is not provided in the return and thus not taxed.
When the books of accounts have been audited, but a copy of the audit report and audited financial statements have yet to be filled in the return while filing it.
If the entity is required to conduct a cost audit but fails to provide detailed information of the same.
Name mismatch between PAN and Income Tax Return.
Once you’ve received income tax defective return notice u/s 139(9), you must correct your return by revising it within 15 days of receiving the defective return notice from the Income Tax Department. You can also apply for an extension by writing an application to the Assessing Officer (A.O.) requesting an extension of the deadline for filing a revised return. Practically, it is seen that even if a taxpayer rectifies the defect after the expiry of fifteen days. Still, before the assessment is made, the Assessing Officer may condone the delay and treat the return as valid.
However, if the response is not filed within 15 days, you can demand an additional time extension to complete the revisions. If you are not granted the additional time for filing your response then, the original return filed is treated as an invalid return. In this case, you might have to face consequences like interest, non-carry forward of losses, penalty, and forfeiture of specific exemptions.
If you fail to file a response to a defective return notice u/s 139(9) or revise your ITR within the specified time frame, your defective return will be treated as a non-filed or invalid return. This means the Income Tax Department will consider it as if you’ve not filed a return for the year. Consequently, your refund will also not be processed by the Income Tax Department, if any.
If your original ITR becomes invalid, you can file a belated return along with a penalty fee to avoid further consequences. File a belated return now!
You will receive notice u/s 139(9) from the Income Tax Department on the email ID entered while filing your ITR. Usually, these notices are received from CPC, and the subject line is 'Communication u/s 139(9) for PAN AWZXXXXXXX for the A.Y.2025-26'. The notice is attached to the email and protected with a password. The password to open the notice is PAN in lower case, and the date of birth in the format DD/MM/YYYY.
For example, if your PAN is DRQPS1234G and your date of birth is 06/12/1996, then the password to open the defective return notice will be drqps1234g06121996, in lower case.
(In some cases, you may also find it under View Notices.)
If you receive a defective return notice under Section 139(9), you must respond online on the Income Tax e-Filing portal within the time mentioned in the notice (usually 15 days).
You will see two options:
A. Agree (Rectify the defect)
B. Disagree (If you do not accept the defect)
Note: Response cannot be Updated/Withdrawn once submitted
If you receive a defective notice, you will get 15 days of time from the date of receiving the notice or as the time limit specified in the notice to rectify the defect in the return filed by you.
Earlier, it was possible to withdraw your response submitted to the defective notice under section 139(9). But this functionality is no longer available. Hence, you cannot withdraw the response made; instead, you can update or view it.
It is important to ensure you respond to a defective return notice within the stipulated time and correctly. Therefore, it is advisable to take expert help. Let experts resolve your notices accurately and efficiently. Connect with an expert now!
One should understand that receiving a tax notice should not necessarily be a cause for panic or worry. Instead, you must view it as a chance to amend mistakes made in your original income tax return. Under Section 139(5) of the Income Tax (IT) Act, taxpayers are entitled to revise their IT returns. This provision allows taxpayers to rectify any unintentional errors or omissions in their IT returns, even after receiving a tax notice u/s 139 (9) of the Income Tax Act. The revision can be made prior to the expiry of one year from the end of the relevant assessment year or before the completion of the assessment year, whichever comes earlier. This flexibility provides taxpayers with the opportunity to correct discrepancies and ensure accuracy in their tax filings.
No. Once you receive a Section 139(9) defective return notice, you must respond to the notice on the e-Filing portal. Filing a fresh or revised return does not count as a valid response to the defect notice.
The Income Tax Department treats the response to Section 139(9) as a separate compliance. If you do not respond within the given time, the department may treat your return as invalid, even if you file a revised return later.
To fix the issue, you should agree with the defect and submit the corrected details through the “Submit Response” option under e-Proceedings on the portal.
You can file a revised ITR using any of the below-mentioned methods through Tax2win -
Self Filing (DIY) - If you have a little bit of tax knowledge and are comfortable with taxes, you can simply use Tax2win’s DIY ITR filing software. It is an AI-integrated software that automatically selects the applicable ITR form. The software computes your tax liability under both regimes so that you can select the most beneficial one. Want to know how to file ITR with Tax2win without a CA? Click here.
Expert-Assisted ITR Filing - If you are someone who finds taxes complicated and doesn’t know how to file an ITR, you can simply book an online CA from Tax2win, who will not only help you file your ITR accurately but can also help you maximize your refund and help you with responding to notices.
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The following table shows how the sections mentioned in this guide correspond to the Income Tax Act 2025.
| Income Tax Act 1961 | Income Tax Act 2025 |
|---|---|
| Section 139(9) | Section 263 |
| Section 44AB | Section 63 |
| Section 44AD | Section 58 |
| Section 44AE | Section 58 |
| Section 234A | Section 423 |
| Section 234B | Section 424 |
| Section 234C | Section 425 |
| Section 234F | Section 428 |
