Income Tax releases Defective Notice FAQs for AY 24-25

The Income Tax Department has released Prima Facie Adjustment (PFA) and Defective Notice FAQs for Assessment Year 2024-25.

A return may be treated as defective on account of incomplete or inconsistent information in the return or in the schedules or for any other reason.

In case you get notice for defective return, you can either file the return as a fresh/ revised return incase the time provided for filing the return in a particular assessment year has not lapsed or alternatively you can also choose to respond to Notice u/s 139.

However, once the time provided for filing the return for a particular assessment year has lapsed, you will not be able file the return as a fresh/ revised return and you will have to respond to Notice u/s 139(9). If you are unable to respond to the notice, the return will be treated as invalid or not filed for that assessment year.

What are some of the common errors that make a return Defective?

Some of the common errors that make a return defective are as follows:

• Credit for TDS has been claimed but the corresponding receipts/income has been omitted to be offered for taxation,
• The gross receipts shown in Form 26AS, on which credit for TDS has been claimed, are higher than the total of the receipts shown under all heads of income, in the return of income.
• “Gross Total Income” and all the heads of income is entered as “nil or 0” but tax liability has been computed and paid.
• Name of taxpayer in ITR does not match with the “Name” as per the PAN data base.
• Taxpayer having income under the head “Profits and gains of Business or Profession” but has not filled Balance Sheet and Profit and Loss Account.

Here is the link to read Defective Notice FAQs for AY 24-25

Link