A complete guide to understanding and responding to Income Tax Notices under Section 143(1)(a) to avoid penalties and ensure compliance.
Saloni Kumari | Aug 29, 2025 |
Received a Notice from IT Department? Know How to Handle Them Under Section 143(1)(a)
Individuals in India who have income above the basic exemption limit or taxable income are required to file an Income Tax Return (ITR). After filing of ITR, the Income Tax Department analyses the details provided by you in the return; thereafter, the department issues notices or intimations to the taxpayers. If it finds any errors, mismatches or issues, the department issues a notice, asking the taxpayer to correct them. Many times, the department also takes harsh actions against the taxpayers for major noncompliance.
However, before taking any legal action against any taxpayer, the department first issues a notice or intimation under Section 143(1)(a), mentioning the reason behind taking a particular action and asking the taxpayer to give a legal reason why the particular action should not be taken against him/her. Once the taxpayer responds to the notice, the department examines if the reasons given by the taxpayer are true; if it finds them incorrect, it takes further action against the taxpayer by issuing the final order.
Notices under Section 143(1)(a) are issued by the Income Tax Department when it discovers errors and discrepancies in your income tax return by a computer system at the Centralised Processing Centre in Bengaluru. This is not the final decision, but just an early message showing how they calculated your tax based on the information you gave. This notice may show any differences or mistakes in your tax return. It gives you a chance to reply or fix the issue before they make the final decision.
This type of notice is usually sent for the following reasons:
According to the law, the Income Tax Department is allowed to issue any notice or intimation under Section 143(1) within the time limit of nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return is being filed.
For instance, if a taxpayer filed his/her ITR for the financial year 2023-24 in July 2024, intimation can be sent any time till December 31, 2025. If the taxpayer does not receive any notice within the time limit of 9 months from the end of the financial year when the return was filed, then the taxpayer can relax, because it means the department did not find any errors or mismatches in their return.
If you have also received a notice from the Income Tax Department under Section 143(1)(a), then you should respond to the notice within 30 days from the issue date of the notice.
There are three different ways to respond to these notices:
In all the above-stated cases, taxpayers are awarded an extra chance to file an updated ITR under section 139(5).
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