Income-tax Intimation u/s 143(1) and Scrutiny Notice u/s 143(2): What They Mean and How to Respond

An intimation under section 143(1) is the result of the automated processing of your return: it states the sum payable or the refund due after the adjustments the Act allows, and a sum payable makes it a deemed notice of demand. A scrutiny notice under section 143(2) is different: an officer wants evidence in support of your return, and you must respond by the date printed in the notice. Before an adjustment is made you get a proposed-adjustment communication with thirty days from its issue to respond. A defective-return notice under section 139(9) gives fifteen days; an inquiry notice under section 142(1) gives the date the notice states.

Sources checked: 22 October 2026

Facts checked on 22 October 2026 against sections 139, 142, 143, 144B, 272A and 536 of the Income-tax Acts 1961 and 2025 on incometaxindia.gov.in (as amended by the Finance Act 2026), CBDT Circulars 19/2019 and 4/2026, and the e-Proceedings help pages on incometax.gov.in.

Key facts

Point	What applies	Where it comes from
Which Act	The 1961 Act for AY 2026-27 and earlier, whenever the notice issues	Section 536(2)(c), Income-tax Act 2025
Proposed adjustment	Thirty days from issue of the communication; then the adjustment is made	Second proviso to section 143(1)(a)
Intimation u/s 143(1)	Sent within nine months from the end of the FY of filing; a sum payable is a deemed notice of demand	Sections 143(1) and 156(1)
Scrutiny notice u/s 143(2)	Served within three months from the end of the FY of filing; reply by the date in the notice	Section 143(2)
Inquiry notice u/s 142(1)	No statutory reply period; the date in the notice	Section 142(1)
Defective return u/s 139(9)	Fifteen days, extendable on application; otherwise the return is invalid	Section 139(9)
Penalty for non-compliance	₹10,000 for each failure to comply with a 142(1) or 143(2) notice	Section 272A(1)(d)
2025-Act equivalents	143 → 270; 142(1) → 268; 139(9) → 263(7); 272A → 465	Department's 1961-to-2025 mapping utility

Which Act applies to my notice?

Section 536(2)(c) of the Income-tax Act 2025 keeps the repealed 1961 Act in force for notices, assessments, penalties and appeals that concern a tax year beginning before 1 April 2026, whenever they are initiated. Every intimation or notice about AY 2026-27 or an earlier year is therefore under the 1961 Act. The 2025 Act's equivalents, section 270 (processing and scrutiny), section 268 (inquiry) and section 263(7) (defective returns), apply from tax year 2026-27, so the first notices under them will appear from 2027; the portal already prints both numbers side by side.

What is an intimation under section 143(1)?

Every return filed under section 139, or in response to a section 142(1) notice, is processed. The total income is recomputed after the adjustments section 143(1)(a) allows, such as arithmetical errors, an incorrect claim apparent from the return itself, a loss or deduction claimed in a late return, and a disallowance shown in the audit report but not taken into the return; tax, interest and fee are computed, credits are adjusted, and the intimation states the sum payable or the refund due. Where nothing is payable or refundable and no adjustment was made, the acknowledgement is deemed to be the intimation. It must be sent within nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return is made (31 December 2027 for a return filed in FY 2026-27). A sum payable makes it a deemed notice of demand under section 156(1), with the thirty-day payment rule and section 220 interest; see our guide to the notice of demand under section 156.

How do I respond to a proposed adjustment under section 143(1)(a)?

No adjustment may be made unless an intimation of the proposed adjustment is first given in writing or electronically. Your response is considered before the adjustment, and where none is received within thirty days of the issue of that communication, the adjustment is made. The thirty days are fixed by the Act, not by the notice. On the portal the communication is called "Prima Facie Adjustment u/s 143(1)(a)" and is answered in e-Proceedings one variance at a time (Agree or Disagree, then Submit); a revised return under section 139(5) may be filed instead, and the Submit button is inactive once the due date has lapsed. A mistake apparent from the record in the intimation itself is corrected by a rectification application under section 154; if you object to the adjustments made, the intimation is appealable under section 246A(1)(a) within thirty days of service.

What is a scrutiny notice under section 143(2)?

Where a return has been furnished, the Assessing Officer or the prescribed income-tax authority may, to ensure that income is not understated or tax underpaid, serve a notice requiring you, on a date specified in the notice, to attend or produce evidence in support of the return. No such notice may be served after three months from the end of the financial year in which the return is furnished, so a return filed in FY 2026-27 can be taken up for scrutiny only by 30 June 2027. The reply date is set by the notice, not the Act. The assessment order under section 143(3) must be made within twelve months from the end of the assessment year.

What does a section 142(1) inquiry notice ask for?

A section 142(1) notice, on a date specified in it, may require you to furnish a return if none was filed in time, to produce accounts or documents, or to furnish information in writing, including a statement of assets and liabilities (which needs the Joint Commissioner's prior approval). Accounts older than three years before the previous year cannot be called for. The Act fixes no reply period; in faceless assessment the time may be extended on an application. After hearing you, and with the prior approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, the officer may also direct a special audit under section 142(2A), with the report due within at most 180 days from receipt of the direction.

What is a defective-return notice under section 139(9)?

Where the Assessing Officer considers a return defective, he may intimate the defect and give you fifteen days from the date of the intimation to rectify it, or a further period on an application. If the defect is not rectified in time, the return is treated as invalid and the Act applies as if you had not filed one; if it is rectified late but before the assessment is made, the officer may condone the delay. On the portal the communication is "Defective Notice u/s 139(9)": the response is Agree (upload the corrected return JSON) or Disagree (state the reason), and you may seek an adjournment. While the filing window for that year is open you may file a revised return instead; otherwise the 139(9) response is the only route.

How do e-Proceedings, adjournments and hearings work?

Go to Dashboard, then Pending Actions, then e-Proceedings. "Submit Response" takes a Partial or Full response with remarks of up to 4,000 characters and attachments of 5 MB each (up to 10 files), confirmed by a Transaction ID, and cannot be edited or withdrawn afterwards. "Seek/View Adjournment" asks for the adjourned date sought and a reason; "Seek Video Conferencing" appears only if the Assessing Officer has flagged the notice for it. For open proceedings the Submit Response option closes 7 days before the Proceeding Limitation Date, at 6 PM, unless the tax authority reopens the window. Under section 144B nobody has to appear in person, and after a show-cause notice on a proposed variation you may request a personal hearing by video conferencing, which the unit must allow.

What happens if I do not respond?

For a proposed adjustment, the adjustment is made and the intimation, with any demand, follows. For a 142(1) or 143(2) notice, section 272A(1)(d) provides a penalty of ₹10,000 for each default, after a hearing; in faceless assessment a show-cause notice under section 144 also precedes a best-judgment assessment. For a defective return, the return becomes invalid.

Does a missing DIN make the notice invalid?

No longer automatically. CBDT Circular 19/2019 said a communication without a DIN was invalid and deemed never issued; it ceased to have effect when Circular 4/2026 was issued on 31 March 2026. The current rule is that a communication must be "referenced by DIN" in some manner (a separate document or the covering e-mail counts), with listed exceptions. The Finance Act 2026 also inserted section 292BA, deemed in force from 1 October 2019, under which no assessment is invalid for a defect in quoting a DIN if the order is referenced by the number in any manner. Treat a missing DIN as a point to raise, not as a certain defence; whether the circular changes the position for notices as distinct from assessment orders is to be confirmed with our expert team.

Getting help

Paste the heading of your communication into our notice decoder to see what it is. Our income-tax support covers replies to these notices, and the compliance calendar tracks the return dates. See also our guides to reassessment notices under sections 148A and 148 and the Income-tax Act 2025 for small businesses. To have our expert team look at your notice, book a consultation or ask for a quote.