What should you do when you get an income tax notice?Whatshouldyoudowhenyougetanincometaxnotice?

First, do not panic — most notices are automated

The overwhelming majority of communications from the Income Tax Department are system-generated and routine. They are not accusations, and receiving one does not mean you are being investigated. What matters is reading which one it is and replying inside the window.

Every genuine notice carries a Document Identification Number (DIN). You can and should verify it on the e-filing portal before acting on anything — notice-shaped phishing is common.

The common sections, in plain terms

Match the section number on the notice to this list:

• —143(1) — an intimation after processing. It either agrees with your return, refunds you, or makes an arithmetic or mismatch adjustment. If you disagree, you respond; if you agree and tax is due, you pay.
• —139(9) — defective return. Something is missing or inconsistent, often the wrong ITR form. Correct and refile within the window or the return can be treated as not filed.
• —142(1) — the officer wants information or a return you have not filed.
• —143(2) — your return has been selected for scrutiny. This is the serious one and is where you want professional representation from the first reply.
• —148 — income is believed to have escaped assessment; reassessment is being opened.
• —245 — a refund due to you is being adjusted against an earlier demand. You get a chance to object before it happens.

The mistake that makes it worse

Silence. An unanswered 139(9) invalidates the return. An unanswered 142(1) or 143(2) leads to a best-judgement assessment under Section 144, where the officer estimates your income without your input — and that estimate is rarely generous. Penalties and interest then accrue on a figure you had no hand in.

The second most common mistake is replying informally — by email, or by walking into an office. Assessments are faceless and the record is the portal. If it is not filed on the portal, for procedural purposes it did not happen.

How to reply well

Answer exactly what is asked, attach the supporting documents referenced in your answer, and keep the acknowledgement. Do not volunteer unrelated material — it broadens the enquiry. Where the notice concerns a year with a transaction in it (a property sale, a funding round, an ESOP exercise), get the working papers for that transaction in front of whoever drafts the reply before it goes.