After having filed your returns, it is electronically processed by the Central Processing Centre(CPC). The income is computed after making the following adjustments to the total revenue in return:
Upon successful processing of the return, an intimation under section 143(1) is issued by the CPC under any of the three instances:
The purpose of this notice is to notify the assessee that the return filed has been picked for scrutiny. It is pertinent to note that the section under which will be scrutinized is different from the one in which the notice has been issued. Via detailed scrutiny, the assessing officer intends to be assured that you have not done any of the following:
Through this notice, the taxpayer is required to respond to the questionnaire issued along with the documents needed for the income tax department. The assessing officer is supposed to service this notice within six months after completing the assessment year to which it pertains.
For instance, Rohit filed his return on 20 May 2020 for the AY 2020-21. Here notice under section 143(2) can be issued to Rohit within six months after completing the AY to which it pertains, i.e. 30 September 2021.
Are you not sure about what to do with such an income tax notice? Use our Notice Upload Facility to allow us to help you out. Alternatively, you can even seek the help of a Tax Expert.
An assessing officer may have a reason to believe that you have not disclosed your income correctly and, therefore, you have paid lower taxes. Alternatively, you may not have filed your return at all, even if you must have filed it as per law. This is termed as income escaping assessment. Under these circumstances, the assessing officer is entitled to assess or reassess your income, according to the case. Before making such an assessment or reassessment, the assessing officer should notify the assessee, asking him to furnish his return of income. The notice issued for this purpose is given under the provisions of Section 148.
Previously the timelines to be adhered to for the issuance of notice under Section 148 were as below:
As per amendment in the Finance Act 2021, with effect from 1 April 2021, the time limit up to which the assessing officer can re-open the assessment of the taxpayer is as follows;
As per the current provisions, the notice under section 148 can be issued up to four years, up to six years or up to 16 years, as the case may be. But with effect from 1 April 2021, the new reassessment due dates shall be applicable.
The financial year for which income escape assessment | Timeline if notice to be issued up to three years | Timeline if notice to be issued beyond three years by up to ten years |
2020-21 | 31.03.2025 | 31.03.2032 |
2019-20 | 31.03.2024 | 31.03.2031 |
2018-19 | 31.03.2023 | 31.03.2030 |
2017-18 | 31.03.2022 | 31.03.2029 |
2016-17 | 31.03.2021 | 31.03.2028 |
2015-16* | – | 31.03.2027 |
A notice under section 142(1) can be issued under two circumstances:
The information is called for, to enable the officer to make a fair assessment. Being non-responsive to this notice has consequences,