Got an Income Tax Notice? 6 Common Types + How to Respond in 30 Days

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An income tax notice in India arrives via email and the e-filing portal within 6-12 months of filing your ITR — and panicking is the most common (and worst) reaction. Most notices are routine: Section 143(1) intimation matches your ITR against IT Department data; Section 139(9) flags defective returns; Section 245 adjusts refunds against past dues. Each has a specific response window (usually 30 days) and a specific procedure. This guide explains the 6 most common notice types received by Indian salaried taxpayers, what each means, and the exact step-by-step response to file via the e-filing portal — without needing a CA in most cases.

How tax notices arrive (and how to confirm they are real)

Genuine income tax notices arrive through two channels only:

• Income Tax e-Filing portal — Login at incometax.gov.in → Pending Actions → e-Proceedings. Real notices appear here with a unique Document Identification Number (DIN).
• Email — Sent to your registered email from noreply@incometax.gov.in or similar government domains. Always contains a DIN that you can verify on the portal.

Beware of scam calls and SMS claiming “you have a tax notice — pay immediately to avoid arrest”. Those are fraud. The IT Department does NOT call you, threaten arrest, or ask for OTPs. Every real notice is accessible on the e-filing portal under your PAN login.

The 6 most common notice types for salaried Indians

1. Section 143(1) — Intimation (the most common)

An automated comparison of your ITR against the IT Department’s data (Form 26AS, AIS). Three possible outcomes:

• No discrepancy — intimation confirms your ITR is accepted. No action needed.
• Refund due — intimation specifies the refund amount; it gets credited to your bank automatically.
• Additional tax demanded — there’s a mismatch (income under-reported or deductions over-claimed). The intimation specifies the disputed amount.

If you agree with the demand: pay via Challan 280 within 30 days, then file response on the portal.

If you disagree: file a rectification request under Section 154 within 4 years via the portal → Services → Rectification. Upload supporting documents (Form 16, AIS extracts, etc.).

2. Section 139(9) — Defective Return

You filed ITR but the IT Department found defects: wrong ITR form chosen, missing schedules, incorrect bank details, total income calculation error. You have 15 days to fix and resubmit.

How to respond:

1. Login to e-filing portal → Pending Actions → e-Proceedings
2. Open the 139(9) notice; read the specific defect listed
3. Click “Submit Response” → revise the affected schedules / form
4. Re-submit. The original ITR is replaced by the corrected one.

Common 139(9) trigger: salaried Indian with capital gains files ITR-1 (which doesn’t support capital gains). The fix is to refile as ITR-2.

3. Section 142(1) — Inquiry Before Assessment

The IT Officer asks for additional information: bank statements, investment proofs, books of account. Most common when you haven’t filed ITR despite having taxable income, or when there’s an unusual transaction in your AIS.

Response window: typically 15 days specified in the notice. Login → Pending Actions → e-Proceedings → upload requested documents in PDF (max 10MB each).

4. Section 245 — Refund Adjustment

If you have past tax demands outstanding and you’re now due a refund, the IT Department sets off the new refund against the old demand. You get a 245 notice informing you BEFORE the adjustment.

Response window: 30 days. Options:

• Agree — refund adjusted automatically; balance refund (if any) credited to bank.
• Disagree — file rectification on the original demand year (the older year that’s contested) showing why it shouldn’t apply.

5. Section 148 — Reassessment

The IT Department reopens a previously-filed return because they have information suggesting income was under-declared. Can be issued for up to 3 years from end of assessment year (or 10 years if income concealed is over Rs 50 lakh).

This is more serious — there’s specific suspicion. Response window: 30 days to file a fresh return or detailed reply.

Consult a CA for Section 148 responses. The notice will specify what triggered the reopening (e.g., property transaction not reported, foreign asset not declared).

6. Section 143(2) — Scrutiny Assessment

The IT Officer issues this when your return is selected for detailed scrutiny — typically due to high income, large deductions, or random sampling. The notice asks for documents to substantiate every item on your return.

Response: requires multiple rounds of submissions over 3-6 months. CA representation strongly recommended. Faceless Assessment Scheme means most scrutinies are now done online without in-person visits to IT offices.

The 7-step response protocol (works for most notices)

1. Don’t panic. Most notices are routine.
2. Verify the notice is real via the DIN on the e-filing portal. Login → Pending Actions.
3. Read carefully. The notice specifies which section, which AY, what’s being asked, and the response window.
4. Gather supporting docs: Form 16, Form 26AS, AIS, bank statements, investment proofs.
5. Calculate the disputed amount. Use the income tax calculator to verify your ITR math.
6. File response on the portal well before the deadline. Don’t wait till day 30 of a 30-day window.
7. Save acknowledgement. Every response gets a tracking ID. Keep PDF copies.

What happens if you ignore a notice?

• Section 143(1) demand: 1% per month interest accrues; eventual recovery via bank attachment after a year.
• Section 139(9) defective: your ITR is treated as never filed. You may need to refile and pay belated-return penalty.
• Section 142(1) inquiry: best-judgement assessment under Section 144 — IT Officer estimates your income and taxes you accordingly, usually higher than actual.
• Section 148 reassessment: assessment order issued based on available information; demand + penalty + interest.
• Section 143(2) scrutiny: assessment order with maximum demand; potential penalty under Section 270A (50-200% of tax evaded).

Bottom line: never ignore. A response with explanation is always better than silence.

The Section 270A penalty risk

For under-reporting of income, penalty is 50% of the tax sought to be evaded. For mis-reporting (deliberate concealment), penalty is 200%. If you receive any notice and your declared income is genuinely lower than what AIS shows, file a revised return under Section 139(5) before the assessment order — penalty becomes negligible if you voluntarily correct.

Common triggers — knowing these helps you avoid notices in the first place

• Income mismatch with AIS: bank interest, FD interest, dividend, mutual fund redemption not declared. Always reconcile with your AIS before filing.
• Section 80C / 80D overclaim: claimed Rs 1.5L 80C but only invested Rs 80K. AIS now tracks PPF, ELSS, LIC payments — easy mismatch detection.
• High-value transactions reported via SFT: credit card spend over Rs 10L (see this guide), cash deposits over Rs 10L, property transactions over Rs 30L, share transactions over Rs 10L. All trigger automatic IT Dept review.
• Refund claims without TDS in Form 26AS: claiming refund of TDS that isn’t actually deposited triggers 143(1) within weeks.
• Crypto transactions not declared: 1% TDS in AIS but no VDA income in ITR = guaranteed 143(1) intimation. See crypto tax guide.

When to engage a CA

• Any notice under Section 148 (reassessment)
• Section 143(2) scrutiny notices
• Notices involving foreign assets / black money
• Disputes above Rs 5 lakh in additional demand
• Notices for prior years where you no longer have records

For routine 143(1) intimation, 139(9) defective return, or 245 refund-adjustment: handle yourself via the portal. A CA fee for Rs 5,000 demand often exceeds the demand itself.

Faceless Assessment — what changed

Since 2020, almost all tax assessments are done online without face-to-face interaction with an IT Officer. The Faceless Assessment Scheme:

• Notices come from a National Faceless Assessment Centre, not your local office
• Responses are uploaded to the portal; the assessing officer is randomly assigned
• You never meet or call the officer
• All correspondence is documented and reviewable

This has dramatically reduced harassment and bribery but also means you cannot personally explain situations to an officer. Written documentation must be thorough.

Verdict

An income tax notice is usually a routine system-generated query, not a harassment summons. The IT Department’s automation now matches your ITR against Form 26AS + AIS + SFT data — most notices flag a specific mismatch you can resolve in 30 minutes. The protocol: verify on portal → read carefully → respond with documents within the deadline → keep acknowledgement. For most salaried Indians, 95% of notices are Section 143(1) intimation or Section 139(9) defective return — both handle-yourself situations. The actual scrutiny notices that require a CA are rare and reserved for high-income or unusual cases. The single best preventive: reconcile AIS and Form 26AS against your ITR before filing — that catches 80% of mismatches that would otherwise trigger a notice 12 months later.