New Delhi. Many taxpayers of the country have recently received an email or message from the Income Tax Department, in which some of their high value transactions have been mentioned. These include transactions like bank deposits, property deals, shares or mutual fund investments. Many people were confused about this communication whether it was fake or a scam.
Income Tax Department i.e. ITD has made it clear that this is not a fake notice but a completely genuine and official advisory. This message has been sent only in those cases where there is a significant difference between the income or transactions shown in the ITR of the taxpayers and the information received from banks, mutual fund houses, registrars or other reporting entities.
Why is this communication being sent?
ITD says that the purpose of this advisory is not to scare taxpayers or to impose immediate penalty. Its purpose is to tell people that information about some of their transactions is available with the department, which has come out through the Annual Information Statement i.e. AIS. The government wants taxpayers to check their information themselves and if there is any mistake, they should correct it in time.
How is the gap detected by AIS?
AIS shows information received from banks, financial institutions and other reporting institutions. If a taxpayer has shown less income in the ITR or has not reported some transactions, the same discrepancy gets flagged in the system. This advisory is being sent on the basis of this gap.
What should taxpayers do
If any taxpayer has received such a message, then first of all he should login to incometax.gov.in and check the compliance portal. By looking at AIS and TIS there, it can be understood which transactions are mismatching. If the information is incorrect, feedback can be given from there. If the mistake is from the taxpayer’s side, then the safest route is to file a revised ITR or a belated return.
Important deadlines to know
The last date to file revised or billed ITR for assessment year 2025-26 i.e. financial year 2024-25 is 31 December 2025. There will be no chance to improve returns after this date. If the discrepancy is caught later, the risk of notice, penalty and interest may increase.
What to do if the message does not come
Even if a taxpayer has not received any such communication yet, it is still considered prudent to check the AIS. With this, any kind of surprise notice can be avoided in future.
clear signal from government
Overall, this step shows the strategy of the government in which first warning and opportunity for improvement is being given. The meaning of the message is clear that you should improve yourself now, otherwise strict action may be taken in future.
