Income Tax Notice Under Section 133(6) and 131?

(AY 2026-27.)

A notice under Section 133(6) is the Income Tax Department's power to require any person to furnish information, statements, or documents that are useful for, or relevant to, any enquiry or proceeding under the Income-tax Act. Section 133(6) does not require you to attend in person: you reply online, on the e-filing or Compliance Portal, by the date stated on the notice. It is one of several types of income tax notice, and a notice u/s 133(6) is most often triggered when a high-value transaction reported in your AIS under the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) rules does not match your filed return, or after a registrar-reported notice after a property purchase. It is frequently issued digitally under the e-Verification Scheme, 2021 and the e-Campaign flow. Where no proceeding is pending against you, the officer must obtain prior approval of the Principal Director or Director, or the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, before issuing it.

Who can issue a 133(6) notice:

• The Assessing Officer handling your case.
• Prescribed income-tax authorities down to the Assistant Director.
• Investigation and prescribed authorities under the e-Verification Scheme, 2021, where only verification is pending.

Typical items sought are bank statements, source-of-funds explanations, ledgers, and third-party confirmations.

Section 131: A notice under Section 131 is a summons that gives the income-tax authority the same powers as a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908: to enforce your attendance, examine you on oath, compel production of books of account, and order discovery and inspection. Section 131 is issued when the officer needs sworn evidence or suspects that income is being concealed, and unlike a 133(6) request it can require you to appear in person.

Section 131(1A): Section 131(1A) lets the investigation wing (Director, Deputy Director, or Assistant Director) exercise these same powers even when no proceeding is pending, where there is reason to suspect concealment of income. Under Section 131(3) the officer may impound and retain your books of account, with reasons recorded; retention is not beyond 15 days (exclusive of holidays) without the approval of a higher authority.

The four civil-court powers under Section 131 are:

• discovery and inspection;
• enforcing attendance and examination on oath;
• compelling production of books of account and documents;
• issuing commissions.

The difference between Section 133(6) and Section 131 is that 133(6) is a power to call for information answered online, while 131 is a summons that can compel your personal attendance and sworn testimony. A 133(6) notice asks you to furnish documents or a written explanation by a stated date, with no oath and no appearance involved. A Section 131 (or 131(1A)) summons is an investigative step: the officer can require you to attend, be examined on oath, produce your books, and can impound them, so it signals a suspicion of concealed income rather than a routine reconciliation. Ignoring a 133(6) request can itself invite escalation to a Section 131 summons or a Section 148 notice.

To check a Section 133(6) notice, log in to the e-filing portal (incometax.gov.in) and open Pending Actions → e-Proceedings, or the Compliance Portal → e-Campaign tab if it arrived through the verification flow; the notice, its Document Identification Number (DIN), and the response window appear there. Confirm the notice is genuine by using Authenticate notice/order issued by ITD under Quick Links and entering the DIN: every valid notice issued after October 2019 carries a DIN, and a notice without a verifiable DIN is to be treated as invalid. Check that your PAN, the assessment year, and the issuing officer's designation on the notice match your records before you reply.

1. Locate the notice under Pending Actions → e-Proceedings, or the Compliance Portal → e-Campaign tab.
2. Authenticate the DIN under Quick Links → Authenticate notice/order; use authenticate the notice on the e-filing portal for the full check.
3. Verify that the PAN, assessment year, and issuing officer's designation match your records.

To reply to a Section 133(6) notice online, log in to the e-filing portal, open the notice under Pending Actions → e-Proceedings, read exactly which information is sought, note the deadline, and submit a document-backed, point-by-point response through the portal before the due date. Draft your reply para-wise in the same order the questions were asked, gather the specific proof for each item (bank statements, invoices, gift deeds, loan confirmations, source-of-funds explanation), upload it as PDF attachments, and click Submit to generate an acknowledgement, and keep it. If the transaction is genuine, a clear reconciliation usually closes the matter; if you cannot meet the date, use the portal's option to seek a short adjournment in writing rather than ignoring it.

1. Log in to the e-filing portal.
2. Open the notice under Pending Actions → e-Proceedings.
3. Read the exact items sought and note the deadline.
4. Draft the reply para-wise, in the same order the questions were asked.
5. Attach PDF proof for each item: bank statements, invoices, gift deeds, loan confirmations, and a source-of-funds explanation.
6. Submit your reply to respond to an income tax notice online through e-Proceedings and save the acknowledgement.

For example, a taxpayer who deposited ₹14 lakh cash but declared ₹9 lakh income attaches both bank statements and a note tracing ₹5 lakh to a documented gift and ₹9 lakh to business receipts. Where the source of funds is disputed or the amounts are large, have a chartered accountant draft the reply.

A Section 133(6) reply is a formal letter addressed to the issuing officer that quotes the notice reference (DIN, PAN, assessment year, notice date), answers each item of information sought point by point, and lists the documents enclosed as proof. It should open by acknowledging the notice, respond para-wise in the same order the questions were asked, state the source and nature of each transaction, attach the supporting evidence, and close with a declaration that the information is true and correct, signed by you or your authorised representative. The skeleton below can be copied, filled in, and saved as a PDF to upload with your e-Proceedings response, or downloaded as a PDF to attach on the portal.

Ignoring a Section 133(6) notice attracts a penalty of ₹500 for every day the default continues under Section 272A(2)(c), and lets the department draw adverse inferences and escalate to a Section 142(1), 148, or 131 proceeding. Failing to comply with a Section 131 summons, whether by not attending, not giving evidence, or not producing books, attracts a penalty of ₹10,000 for each such default under Section 272A(1)(c), and can trigger further investigation, best-judgment assessment under Section 144, and, for persistent non-compliance, prosecution. In both cases the safe course is to reply, or seek an extension in writing, before the date on the notice; silence is the one response that guarantees the outcome gets worse. The full consequences of ignoring an income tax notice are set out separately.