What should be done after receiving notice under Income Tax?

The Income Tax Department collects taxes on various incomes of the registered taxpayer in each financial year as per the Income Tax Act, 1961. In case of default or non-payment of income tax by the taxpayer the department serves various types of Income Tax Notice to the taxpayer. There can be many different reasons for getting notice from the Income Tax Department. In this article, we will try and understand the different types of notices that are issued to the taxpayer.

Types of Income Tax Notice:

·         Notice under Section 131(1A):

This type of Income Tax Notice is served to the taxpayer in case the assessing or proper officer suspects that the taxpayer has concealed his/ her income, this means that where it is believed that the person has hidden the total accrued income in a financial year. A taxpayer who has been served with this type of notice must gather all the sought and related documents and file the same against the reply for the notice within the deadline prescribed in the act. If the documents are incomplete the same is to be attached with an application to seek more time for collecting the relevant documents.

·         Notice under Section 139(9): 

This notice is sent to the taxpayer in case where a wrong form is filed for defective return or where the income details for the claimed refund is missing or where there are multiple numbers of mistakes and errors done in the filing. To respond to such an Income Tax Notice, the taxpayer has to file it within 15 days of the receipt of the notice. They can file the reply using the e-file option in the tax department official website.

·         Notice under Section 143(1):

This is a type of demand Income Tax Notice that is served to a taxpayer for demanding or instructing them to pay additional taxes or other levied payments required due to any calculation mistake or due to incorrect furnished information. The taxpayer shall respond to the department within 30 days of receipt of the notice. One can file the notice in the e-proceeding facility of the taxation department’s online portal.   

Related Article: How to file a reply to Income Tax Notice

·         Notice under Section 148:

An Income Tax Notice under Section 148 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 is served to the taxpayer for the purpose of reassessment in case where the proper officer has a reason to believe that the income of the taxpayer has escaped a particular assessment. Such a notice can be served by the officer for up to six years from the date of such assessment year for which the income has escaped the assessment.  The taxpayer is liable to file a return for the income that has been asked about in the notice. If the taxpayer wants to appeal against the notice then, he can ask for a copy of reasons for issuing such a notice from the taxation department.

·         Notice under Section 156:

Notice under Section 156 of the act is another type of demand notice that is sent to the taxpayers for the payment of due taxes, interests, penalty or fine that they must pay. The taxpayer must pay the dues within 30 days of receipt of the income tax notice under section 156. One can pay the dues by going to e-file facility in the tax department’s website and then click on the Respond to Outstanding Demand, to clear the due amount.