Nowadays tax authorities are sending notices for smallest of errors in income tax returns. Without understanding the type of income tax notice and the reason for the same, taxpayers get scared. But worth mentioning here is that most of these notices only seek clarification from the taxpayer. Here we explain six common types of tax notices that taxpayers receive and how to respond to them.

1. Notice under Section 131(1A)

You may receive this notice if your Assessing Officer (AO) is of the opinion that you are hiding the income. This is an intimation that the AO is initiating an investigation into the matter. You can respond to these tax notices by logging in to www.incometaxindiaefilling.gov.in. If you are unable to gather all the documents sought, send whatever you have within the deadline along with an application seeking more time.

2. Notice under Section 139(9)

If your AO is of the opinion that the ITR filed by you is defective then such notices are issued. In such a case the AO gives a proper error description along with a probable solution to rectify the same. The assessee gets 15 days time to respond to the notice from the date of intimation. Failure to respond to such notice within the stipulated time frame may lead to rejection of your return by the AO.

3. Notice under Section 142(1)

This is a notice for a preliminary inquiry before an assessment. You may get this notice if you don't file return for a particular assessment year on time. This notice calls for further details and documents from the assessee. In this case, the documents or proofs that were enquired must be submitted before the end of the deadline.

4. Notice under Section 143(1)

Such notices are sent to a taxpayer if any tax or interest is found payable or refundable. It is a demand notice for additional tax or other required changes if there is an error in the return calculation. The intimation, in this case, would contain the details of return filed by you and the computation as done by the AO. You need to respond to these notices within 30 days.

5. Notice under Section 148

If your new AO does not agree with the assessment done by the previous AO then you may receive notice under this section. If the AO feels that some income of the assessee escaped assessment then income tax notices u/s 148 can be issued. If you receive such a notice, you need to file a return of the income being asked. You can also ask for a copy of the reasons for issuing the notice if you want to contest the notice.

6. Notice under Section 156

If any penalty, tax, fine or any other amount is due from the taxpayer, then the I-T department serves a notice under Section 156. The taxpayer can pay the demanded amount within 30 days from the date of the income tax notice.