Have you received this notice from the Income Tax Department? Correct the mistake within 15 days, otherwise…

If you are breathing a sigh of relief after filing your ITR, then check your email inbox. Have you received any important mail from the Income Tax Department? Many people who have recently filed their Income Tax Return (ITR) are receiving a notice from the department. This notice is being sent under Section 139(9), which is also called the Defective ITR Notice. This notice is not a call for any investigation or scam, but information that some mistakes have been left in the ITR filed by you. The good thing is that the department gives you a chance to correct these mistakes. But if you ignore it, then your filed ITR can also become 'invalid'.

Before panicking, it is important to confirm that the notice you received is for a defective ITR. Income tax notices always come to the department's official email or by post on the registered address. If you have received an email, pay attention to its subject line. It usually reads something like this: 'Communication under section 139(9) for PAN ABXXXXXXXC for the Assessment Year 2024-25' Here your PAN number and the relevant assessment year will be written. If there is such a subject, then it is clear that your ITR has been found defective and you need to correct it under section 139(9).

There can be many small and big mistakes behind getting a defective ITR notice. In most cases, it is an inadvertent mistake. This notice can be received due to reasons like mismatch of information, selection of wrong ITR form, difference between TDS and income, incomplete filing of ITR, incorrect calculation of tax, wrong challan information, error in balance sheet and P&L etc.

As soon as you receive this income tax notice, the countdown begins. The Income Tax Department gives you 15 days to correct your mistake and file a revised return. If you do not respond or correct the mistake within this time limit, your ITR will be considered invalid.

Invalid ITR simply means that you never filed ITR for that financial year. As a result, you may be fined and you may also lose the refund (if any). If you feel that 15 days is less, then you can request the Assessing Officer to extend the time.

To correct the defective ITR, first go to the e-filing portal and login with ID and ID-password. After logging in, go to the 'e-Proceedings' tab and read the notice carefully, and collect the necessary documents to correct the mistakes. After this, choose the appropriate response option in the e-proceedings section. A new page will open, correct the mistakes, and upload the required documents there. After making all the necessary changes, cross-check once and then submit the revised return through the e-filing portal. The Income Tax Department will send you a receipt as an acknowledgement after receiving your revised return.