Filed your taxes but received a notice? Here’s what to do

With the deadline for filing Income Tax Returns (ITR) over on the 31st of July, all post-filing returns have been processed at the Income Tax department’s Central Processing Centre (CPC). Hence, some of you might receive intimations and notices from the IT department under different sections. While some cases don’t require the taxpayer to file an additional response, others might require you to take necessary action. 

Why are you receiving intimidation or notice from the IT department?

Once you have filed your ITR, you are required to e-verify it or send a signed copy of ITR-V to the CPC within 120 days from the deadline for filing taxes, i.e. the 31st of July. After e-verification, you receive an email from the IT department confirming the procedure. The verification process of your ITR begins and is checked for any mistakes you might have made while filing your taxes. 

Talking about verification of the ITR, Deepak Jain, chief executive, TaxManager.in a tax e-filing and compliance management portal, said, “This is a completely automatic and computer-generated process in which the data given by the taxpayer is compared with the details available to the income tax department. In case of any discrepancies in arithmetical errors, internal inconsistencies, tax calculation and tax payment verification, then intimation under Section 143(1) is sent to the taxpayer.”

So, what should be your course of action?

You do not need to reply to every intimation or notice sent by the IT department. If you have received an intimation, you must first learn about the reason for it. If the IT department has highlighted a discrepancy in the filing, you must first re-calculate your returns. An easy way to verify the discrepancy pointed out by the IT department is to check the attached statement that comes with the email from the authorities. The attached report has two columns; the first column includes figures filed by you, whereas the second column includes the statistics calculated by the IT department.  

The conclusion of the report created by the IT department can have three different scenarios: either you have to pay additional tax, get a refund, or have no difference between the two calculations. If there is no difference, you are not required to respond. If you are required to pay additional tax, you would have to do so with the help of a pre-filled challan that would have been sent along with the mail. If you are eligible for a tax refund, you will receive the refund amount in a few days.   

For any clarifications/feedback on the topic, please contact the writer at sourabh.dubey@clear.in