How to Respond to an Income Tax Notice?

When you get an income-tax notice, first authenticate that it is genuine on the e-Filing portal using its Document Identification Number (DIN), then read it to note the section, assessment year and response deadline. Do not panic. Most notices are routine requests for information or intimations rather than accusations. Confirm the PAN, name and assessment year on the notice are yours, identify the exact discrepancy the department is flagging (compare it against your ITR, Form 26AS and AIS), and diarise the deadline printed on the notice before you draft anything.

Every genuine income tax notice carries a DIN, so run four checks before you reply:

1. Authenticate that the notice is genuine using its DIN.
2. Identify the section and the assessment year.
3. Find the exact discrepancy the department is flagging.
4. Note the response deadline printed on the notice.

You can authenticate your notice on the income tax portal using the DIN before you do anything else; a genuine notice always matches on the portal.

Respond to an income-tax notice through the e-Proceedings service on the e-Filing portal: log in, open Pending Actions > e-Proceedings, select the notice, click Submit Response, choose Agree or Disagree where the notice asks (or upload your reply for a query notice), attach your supporting documents and submit before the deadline. e-Proceedings lets any registered user (or their authorised representative) view and answer every notice, intimation or letter issued by the department and CPC without visiting a tax office. You may attach up to 10 files (5 MB each, 50 MB total); the response does not need to be e-verified; and it cannot be edited or withdrawn once submitted, so review everything first and save the acknowledgement/transaction ID.

The path and limits are the same across notice types; only the documents you attach differ. The full sequence is:

For a defective return notice under Section 139(9), step 4 means correcting the flagged defect and refiling the return.

Write your reply to an income-tax notice as a short, point-wise letter that quotes the notice reference and answers every issue it raises, one point per paragraph, each backed by a document you attach. Open with the notice DIN, section, assessment year, date and your PAN/name, address the reply to the authority printed on the notice (the National Faceless Assessment Centre / Assessment Unit for a faceless scrutiny or 142(1) notice, or the jurisdictional Assessing Officer for a 133(6)/manual notice), then respond to each query in the order the notice lists it: state your position, give the figure, and cite the specific evidence (for example, "the ₹2,40,000 shown as unreported interest in the AIS is already declared in Schedule OS of my ITR (see Form 26AS, Annexure 2)"). Close by requesting that the proceeding be dropped, the return accepted, or the demand deleted as applicable, assure full cooperation, and sign with your name, PAN and date. Keep it factual and unemotional; do not admit or deny anything you have not verified.

Address a faceless scrutiny notice under Section 143(2) or a Notice under Section 142(1) to the National Faceless Assessment Centre, never to a local officer. A show-cause notice uses the same structure but must specifically rebut the recorded reasons or the proposed penalty ground with case-specific evidence: for a reassessment show-cause under Section 148A(1) see the reassessment notice under Section 148 guide, and for a penalty show-cause under Section 274/270A see the consequences of ignoring a notice guide.

Use this skeleton and fill the bracketed fields from your own notice:

The documents needed to reply to an income-tax notice are the notice copy plus whatever evidence supports the disputed figure: for a salaried person that is usually Form 16 (Parts A and B), Form 26AS, the AIS/TIS, and proof of the deductions or income in question. Keep a copy of the notice with its DIN, TDS certificates, salary slips or income proofs, bank statements for the assessment year, and investment/deduction proofs (insurance, ELSS, PPF, home-loan interest). The exact set depends on the notice type: a defective-return notice needs the corrected schedules, a demand notice needs the challan or rectification proof, and a 142(1) inquiry needs the specific books or statements the officer asked for.

The core documents required to reply to most notices are:

• The notice copy, with its DIN
• Form 16 (Parts A and B)
• Form 26AS and the AIS/TIS
• Bank statements for the assessment year
• TDS certificates and salary slips or income proofs
• Investment and deduction proofs (insurance, ELSS, PPF, home-loan interest)

Add the notice-specific documents on top of this core set: corrected schedules for a defective return, a paid challan for a demand, or the specific books, ledgers or statements named in a 142(1) inquiry.

If you disagree with an income-tax notice, you have three routes depending on the notice: file a rectification under Section 154 for an apparent mistake in an intimation or order, file a revised return under Section 139(5) if the return itself was wrong and the filing window is open, or file an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) under Section 246A within 30 days if you dispute an assessment order or demand. For a Section 143(1)(a) proposed adjustment you simply disagree item-by-item on the portal with reasons and evidence. A rectification under Section 154 can be filed within four years from the end of the financial year in which the order was passed; an appeal must generally be filed within 30 days of receiving the demand or order, with condonation possible for late appeals.

Match the route to your situation:

• Apparent mistake in an intimation or order. File a rectification under Section 154, the correction route for a mistake apparent from the record.
• The return itself was wrong and the window is open. File a revised return under Section 139(5).
• You dispute the assessment or demand. Appeal to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), the first appellate authority, under Section 246A, and then to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal if needed.
• You agree. Accept the position, then pay or comply.
• You partly agree. For an Intimation under Section 143(1) adjustment or a demand, disagree item-by-item on the portal: accept the correct items and contest the rest with evidence.

For a disputed addition or a large demand, a practising chartered accountant can draft the rectification, revised return or appeal so the grounds are framed correctly the first time.

To pay a tax demand, log in to the portal, open Pending Actions > Response to Outstanding Demand, choose the demand (by DRN), and either Pay Now via e-Pay Tax or submit a disagreement with reasons. A Section 156 demand must ordinarily be paid within 30 days of service, after which interest under Section 220(2) accrues at 1% per month; a Section 245 notice proposing to set off your refund against an old demand gives you 30 days to agree or object before the adjustment is made. If the demand is wrong, file a rectification under Section 154 or contest it on the demand-response screen rather than ignoring it.

The full walkthrough for paying or contesting a demand notice under Section 156 and for objecting to a refund adjustment under Section 245 lives on those two pages; use this section to decide between paying and disputing, then follow the detailed steps there.

If you miss an income-tax notice deadline, act immediately: you can Seek Adjournment on the e-Proceedings screen to request more time, or apply for condonation of delay under Section 119(2)(b) for certain late claims, and for a late appeal the Commissioner (Appeals) can condone the delay if you show sufficient cause. Missing the window is risky: for a Section 139(9) defect your return can be treated as invalid (as if never filed); for a 142(1) or 143(2) notice the officer can proceed to a best-judgment assessment under Section 144 and levy a penalty of ₹10,000 per default under Section 272A(1)(d). Respond or seek an extension before the date passes rather than after.

Acting before the date passes is the only clean way to resolve a notice once the deadline is close; the full penalty and prosecution picture is in the consequences of ignoring a notice guide.

Yes. You can add an Authorised Representative (such as a chartered accountant) on the e-Filing portal to view and submit the response to a notice on your behalf through e-Proceedings. You can have only one authorised representative active at a time for a proceeding, and you can remove or withdraw them later. For complex notices, reassessment under Section 148/148A, scrutiny under Section 143(2), a large demand, or a deduction/capital-gains disallowance, professional drafting materially improves the outcome, so engage a CA early rather than after the deadline lapses.

The way you respond depends on the notice type, but the portal path is the same. The table below maps each common notice to its response action and deadline, with a link to the full guide for each. Use it to jump straight to the notice you received: a 143(1)(a) adjustment is answered Agree/Disagree within 30 days; a 139(9) defect is corrected within 15 days; a 142(1) inquiry needs the documents requested; a 148 reassessment needs a return plus your reply to the recorded reasons; a 156 demand is paid or contested within 30 days.

Confused which one you got? Compare the difference between Section 142(1) and 143(2). The dates by which a notice can be issued and answered are governed by the time limits for issuing a notice.