Intimation u/s Section 143(1) - Notice and Responses

Intimation u/s 143(1) is issued by the income tax department once your return is processed. Read below to know more.

Have you received a notice u/s 143(1) that's causing sleepless nights for you? Well, that’s what an income tax notice does to individuals. But let us tell you an interesting fact that you might not be aware of the fact that not all Income Tax Notices are as dreaded as they’re perceived. Some income tax notices have good news too. So you should keep calm and read the notice carefully. This guide would also be helpful for you to understand how to respond to the notice you have received.

What is Intimation u/s 143(1)?

Intimation u/s 143(1) is a summary of the details you have submitted to the tax department and the details the department has considered while processing your return. Basically, the intimation u/s 143(1) contains the following information:

1. Permanent Details of assessee like name, address, etc
2. Income Tax Return filing details like acknowledgment number, filing date, etc
3. Refund sequence number
4. Tax Calculation as provided by you in the Return of Income
5. Tax as Computed under section 143(1) {i.e. As per Department}

Why is the intimation u/s 143(1) issued?

Basically, when a return is submitted to Income Tax Department, the department applies the following computerized checks as a part of its review procedure:
Arithmetical errors in the return.

• An incorrect claim, which is apparent from any information in return. For example, if the deduction u/s 80C is claimed more than the maximum permissible deduction u/s section 80C i.e., Rs 1,50,000, the excess shall be disallowed and reflected in your intimation u/s 143(1). Another example may be that rent income is deducted from business income, which is not shown under Income from House Property.
• Disallowance of expenditure indicated in the audit report but not taken into account in computing the total income in the return
• Comparison of Advance Tax, Self-assessment tax and TDS, etc., from 26AS.
• Addition of income appearing in Form 26AS or Form 16A or Form 16 which is not included in ITR
• Claiming the losses for carry forward to next year when the return is submitted after the due date / set off of losses of the previous year where the return was filed after the due date.
• Whether deduction under section 10AA, 80-IA, 80-IAB, 80-IB, 80-IC, 80-ID, 80-IE has been taken after the due date of the Income Tax Return
• Calculation of Tax, Late filing fees, Interest, etc.

Intimation u/s 143(1) is sent to all taxpayers by the Income Tax Department.

Till when can I receive intimation u/s 143(1)?

Intimation u/s 143(1) can be issued only up to 1 year from the end of the financial year in which the return is filed and not after that.

For example,

1. If you filed your return for the year 2021-22 on 21.07. 2022, then in that case, the financial year-end will be on 31st March 2023, and intimation can be issued for 1 year, i.e., intimation u/s 143(1) can be issued for the FY 2021- 22 only up to 31st March 2024.
2. Lastly, do not ignore this notice, as you must submit your response within the time specified in such notice in case any action is required.

What should be done on receiving intimation u/s 143(1)?

On receiving the intimation u/s 143(1), there’ll be two cases, either you’ll agree with the computation done by the department or you’ll not.

• In case you agree with the tax amount payable or the amount of refund due, You would be required to pay the amount of outstanding taxes, or you will simply receive the amount of refund shown in the intimation u/s 143(1).
• In case you do not agree with the calculations done by the income tax department, You can opt to file an online request to rectify your income tax return under section 154 or file an appeal under section 246A.
• And, if the net amount refundable or payable is zero, then you can treat the intimation received u/s 143(1) as the completion of the return filing process from the Income Tax Department for the financial year in relation to which the return was filed.

What if no intimation is received till the expiry of one year?

If you do not receive any intimation till the expiry of one year from the end of the financial year in which you have filed your return, then your ITR–V acknowledgment will be deemed your intimation in that case. However, it is still suggested that you check online whether the Income Tax Department has processed ITR.

How is the intimation u/s 143(1) received?

These intimations are auto-generated and are sent to the Email address provided by you at the time of filing income tax returns online / mail id given at the time of registration on the income tax website. The sender of these emails is Central Processing Centre (CPC), with the sender id being [email protected], as the returns are processed at CPC only.
As technology is growing, so is the Income Tax Department. Now with Intimation u/s 143(1) sending, a text message is also sent to the registered mobile number.

What is the password to open intimation u/s 143(1)?

The attachment received is a password-protected file which is your PAN number in lowercase followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format.

For example,
Suppose your PAN is AAGRK5803P and your birth date is 2nd November 1982, then the password to open your online intimation u/s 143(1) shall be “aagrk5803p02111982”.

How to get the Intimation u/s 143(1) again?

If you have not received your intimation on the registered mail Id or in case you are unable to find that mail, you can get your intimation u/s 143(1) again by following these steps :-

Step 1: Log in to the e-filing portal and enter your login credential.

Step 2: On your dashboard, click on the e-file and hover over the Income tax return. Click on ‘View Filed Returns.

Step 3: You will see a page with your filed returns. Click on the Download Intimation Order.

Check the following points when you receive an intimation u/s 143(1)

• The intimation has your name on it.
• The Intimation has a document identification number
• All Incomes are considered properly under the appropriate head, and the Income of one head is not considered under another head or repeated elsewhere.
• The deductions you have claimed under 80C and other sections of chapter VI A are considered.
• TDS/TCS claimed Advance Tax paid, and Self-Assessment Tax paid in the computation by CPC.
• Any relief u/s 89, 90/90A/91 or any rebate claimed/ allowable is considered in the Intimation.

So, don’t get paranoid even if an intimation u/s 143(1) has been issued to you. Simply go through the intimation, gather your supporting evidence, and respond! For expert assistance of a CA and clarification, contact us at [email protected] or call +91-9660996655!