How to Respond to an Income Tax Notice Under Section 143(1) or 148

The Notices Taxpayers See Most Often

A Section 143(1) intimation is the most common — it flags a mismatch between the return you filed and the TDS/income data the department has in Form 26AS or AIS. A Section 139(9) notice means your return is treated as defective, usually because a schedule or income head is missing. A Section 148/148A notice is more serious — it means the department believes some income wasn’t disclosed in an earlier year.

Why the First 30 Days Matter

Most of these notices carry a fixed response window, typically 15 to 30 days depending on the section. An unanswered notice can convert into an order based only on the department’s own data — far harder to reverse later than responding on time.

How to Respond Correctly

• Pull your AIS, Form 26AS and the originally filed return side by side to see exactly what is being compared.
• Gather supporting documents for the specific discrepancy — bank statements, Form 16, investment proofs, or sale deeds for capital gains.
• File the reply through the income tax portal within the stated window and keep a copy of the submission.

If you have received a notice and are not sure how to read it, our income tax notice consultants in Gurgaon and income tax notice consultants in Delhi NCR can review it and draft the response.