Income Tax Notice Assistance

Expert handling of income tax notices, scrutiny assessments, and appeals.

An income tax notice is a formal communication from the department that requires a specific response within a stated period, and what it asks for depends entirely on the section it is issued under — a section 143(1) intimation is arithmetic and often needs nothing, while a section 148 notice reopens a completed assessment and needs a considered reply. The single most expensive mistake is treating them as the same thing, or assuming that silence is a way of disagreeing.

Who this is for

Notice analysis
Response drafting
Expert representation
Penalty minimisation

Documents you'll need

The notice you received (PDF or photo)
ITR acknowledgement for the relevant year
Form 26AS and AIS
Supporting documents for the disputed items

The process

What we actually do

1
We identify what the notice actually is
The section number on the notice determines the deadline, the reply and the consequence of getting it wrong. A 143(1) intimation showing a mismatch is not an accusation. A 148 notice is a reopening with rights attached. This is the first thing established, and it is usually the thing that changes how worried you should be.
2
We check whether it is even valid
Notices carry time limits, jurisdiction requirements and — since 2021 — a Document Identification Number without which the notice is treated as never issued. A notice served after its limitation period has expired can be challenged on that ground alone, and that is a stronger position than arguing the merits.
3
We reconstruct what the department is looking at
Faceless assessment means the officer is working from data: the AIS, 26AS, GST returns, SFT reports of large transactions. We pull the same records and find the specific entry that produced the query. Almost always there is one, and it is usually a duplicate, a misreported entry, or a transaction that is not income at all.
4
We draft a reply that answers the question asked
Faceless assessment is decided on what is written and uploaded. There is no hearing to explain at, no officer to reason with. The submission has to answer the specific query, attach the specific evidence, and say plainly why the position taken in the return was correct — and it has to do that inside the response window.
5
We file it on the portal and keep the record
Responses go through the e-proceedings tab with the documents attached. The acknowledgement is kept, because a submission that cannot be proved to have been filed is worth nothing when the matter moves up.
6
We stay with it through to the order — and beyond, if needed
Assessments go through rounds. If the order is adverse, the next step is an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) within thirty days, and the grounds of appeal depend on what was argued at the assessment stage. That is why the reply matters more than it looks like it does at the time.

Who this is for

Anyone who has received a notice, intimation or communication from the Income Tax Department and does not know which of those it is
Taxpayers facing a section 143(2) scrutiny notice, where the assessment is now open
Anyone with a section 148 notice reopening an earlier year
People whose refund has been adjusted against a demand they do not recognise
Taxpayers with an outstanding demand showing on the portal from a year they thought was closed
Anyone whose return was declared defective under section 139(9)
People who have received a notice about a high-value transaction reported in the AIS

How long it takes

A notice with a live deadline is looked at the same day it reaches us. A straightforward 143(1) mismatch is usually resolved in two to three working days. A scrutiny under 143(2) runs for months, in rounds, and the timeline belongs to the department rather than to us. A reopening under 148 begins with a reply to the show-cause under 148A and can run considerably longer.

If you do nothing

The assessment is completed without you. Under section 144 the officer makes a best-judgment assessment on the information available, which by definition assumes the least favourable version of your affairs, and a demand follows. That demand is recovered — from refunds first, then from bank accounts by attachment. The position is still arguable on appeal, but it is argued from a much worse starting point than a timely reply would have cost.

The law, in figures

Dates, thresholds and sections

Every figure below carries the provision it comes from, so it can be checked.
What	Figure	Source
Time to respond to a defective return notice	15 days from service, extendable on application	Section 139(9)
Time limit to issue a scrutiny notice	3 months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed	Section 143(2), as amended by Finance Act 2021
Reopening limit, escaped income below ₹50 lakh	3 years from the end of the assessment year	Section 149(1)(a)
Reopening limit, escaped income of ₹50 lakh or more	5 years from the end of the assessment year	Section 149(1)(b), as amended by Finance Act 2024
Time to file an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals)	30 days from receipt of the order	Section 249(2)

What usually goes wrong

Ignoring an intimation because the amount is small — an unpaid demand stays on the portal and is set off against the next refund without asking
Replying with an explanation but attaching none of the documents that would prove it
Missing the response window and losing the chance to be heard before the assessment is completed on the department's own figures
Agreeing to an adjustment to make a notice go away, then finding the same treatment applied to three other years
Filing a revised return in response to a scrutiny notice, which does not withdraw the notice and can weaken the position
Letting the thirty-day appeal window pass because the order arrived by email and was not read

What non-compliance costs

Under-reporting of income: 50% of the tax on the under-reported amount under section 270A
Misreporting, which includes false entries and unrecorded transactions: 200% of the tax
Failure to comply with a notice under section 142(1) or 143(2): ₹10,000 for each default under section 272A(1)(d)
Interest under section 220(2) at 1% per month on a demand that remains unpaid after thirty days

These are statutory amounts, not our fees. What we charge depends on your situation and is quoted before any work starts.

Not to be confused with

These come up in the same conversation and are routinely treated as the same thing. They are not.

Section 143(1) intimation

An intimation is an automated arithmetic check of your return against the department's records. It is not a scrutiny and often needs no reply at all — unless it shows a demand or a mismatch you disagree with.

Section 143(2) scrutiny notice

This one opens an assessment. It has to be issued within three months of the end of the financial year in which the return was filed, and it requires a substantive response with evidence.

Section 148 notice

A reopening of a year already assessed, permitted only where the department has information suggesting income escaped assessment. It must be preceded by a 148A show-cause and your reply to it.

Common questions

I have received a notice from the Income Tax Department. Can you help?

Yes, and it is worth acting quickly because most notices carry a response deadline measured in weeks. Send us the notice and we will tell you what it actually says, what it requires and what it will take to answer. Many notices are routine mismatches that resolve with a simple reply; some are not, and knowing which you have is the first thing to establish.

See all questions

Want to do it yourself?

The whole procedure, written out step by step. Nothing held back to force a call.

6 steps
How to respond to an income tax notice
Identify which section a notice was issued under, work out what it actually requires, and respond on the portal within the stated deadline.
120 min

Work like this

Salaried professional · Noida, Uttar Pradesh
A salaried filer served a mismatch notice over share sales
A software engineer who had filed ITR-1 for years received a notice after the AIS reported mutual fund redemptions she had not declared.
Assessment years involved
2
Additional tax due
₹0
Notice closed in
3 weeks

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