An email lands from CPC. Subject line: "Intimation under Section 143(1)." Your stomach drops a little.
Don't panic. This is one of the most routine communications the Income Tax Department sends — and millions of taxpayers get it every year after filing their ITR. It doesn't mean you're being investigated. It means your return was processed, and the department is telling you the result. Sometimes it's a refund. Sometimes it's a demand. Sometimes it's just a confirmation that everything checked out fine.
Here's everything you need to know about Section 143(1) intimation — what's in it, how to open it, and exactly what to do depending on what it says.
After you file your ITR, the Income Tax Department doesn't just take your word for it. Your return goes through a preliminary automated review at the Central Processing Centre (CPC) — no human involved, completely computer-based. This review checks your calculations against the department's own records, including data from Form 26AS, Form 16, and TDS returns.
Once this process is complete, a Section 143(1) intimation is sent to your registered email address. Every taxpayer who files a return can receive one. You don't need to have made a mistake to get it — even a perfectly filed return gets an intimation confirming it was accepted.
Three outcomes are possible. Your return matches perfectly and no changes are made. You paid excess tax and a refund is due. Or there's a discrepancy and additional tax is demanded.
The notice is essentially a side-by-side comparison. On one side: what you declared. On the other: what the department computed.
Specifically, it includes your name, PAN, assessment year, ITR acknowledgement number, and Document Identification Number (DIN). Beyond that, it shows a detailed breakdown of income under each head, deductions claimed, tax paid (TDS, advance tax, self-assessment tax), and the final computation the CPC arrived at.
The key number to look for is at the bottom — it tells you whether the outcome is a refund, a demand, or no difference at all. If it says "No demand/No refund," you're done.
You've probably wondered what exactly the CPC is looking for when it processes your return. Here's what actually gets flagged:
Mathematical Errors and Internal Inconsistencies
Simple calculation mistakes — where numbers added up incorrectly in your return — get caught first. But the CPC also checks for internal inconsistencies, like income declared in one section but deducted in another where it shouldn't be.
Losses Carried Forward and Audit Report Mismatches
If you're claiming carry-forward losses from previous years but filed those old returns after the due date, the CPC can disallow that set-off. Similarly, expenses shown in your audit report but not included in your return get flagged as well.
The CPC also compares what you declared against Form 26AS and Form 16 data. If income appears in those forms but wasn't included in your return, it may be added back — though this specific adjustment was removed for returns filed from AY 2018-19 onwards.
How to Open the Notice
The PDF you receive is password-protected. The password is your PAN in lowercase followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format — no spaces, no hyphens. So if your PAN is ABCDE1234E and your date of birth is 1 January 2000, your password is abcde1234e01012000.
The 9-Month Deadline
The department must send this intimation within nine months from the end of the financial year in which you filed the return. For a return filed in FY 2023-24 (say, in July 2024), the notice can arrive any time up to 31st December 2025. If that window passes with no notice, your return is treated as accepted with no changes.
What If You Never Got the Intimation Email
Check your spam folder first. If it's not there either, log in to incometax.gov.in → e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns → click the relevant acknowledgement number → download the Intimation Order directly. It's always uploaded to the portal, even if the email didn't come through.
First step when you receive it: check the basics. Make sure your name, PAN, assessment year, and acknowledgement number on the notice actually match your filing. Typos or data mismatches in the notice itself can happen.
Then compare the two columns — your figures vs the department's figures. Look for where they diverge and why.
If you made an error in your return: You can file a revised return on the e-filing portal. This is the right route when the mistake is yours — wrong income figure entered, deduction claimed incorrectly, that kind of thing. This depends on whether you're still within the revision deadline.
If the department made an error: Don't file a revised return here — that won't fix it. Instead, file a rectification request under Section 154 through the e-filing portal. This is specifically for cases where the CPC made a computational mistake or applied an incorrect adjustment to your return.
If the intimation simply confirms no demand: No action needed. That's the best outcome. Keep it for your records.
If the notice shows a tax demand — meaning the department says you owe more than you paid — you have to respond. And you have 30 days from the date of the notice to do it.
Paying the Demand
If you agree with the demand, pay it using OLTAS challan code 400, which stands for "Tax on Regular Assessment." This is important — selecting the wrong challan code can cause payment matching issues. After paying, submit your response on the e-filing portal confirming you agree.
Disputing the Demand
If you don't agree, submit a response on the portal marking "Disagree" and state your reason. Then file a Section 154 rectification request. But if the CPC's response to that isn't satisfactory, you can escalate — file a grievance on the e-filing portal or contact your Assessing Officer directly.
Missing the 30-day deadline has real consequences. Under Section 220, interest at 1% per month starts accruing on the unpaid amount. And the Assessing Officer can impose a penalty under Section 221 up to the amount of the pending tax. So respond on time, even if just to mark that you disagree.
Here's a clean checklist — use it every time:
The Section 143(1) intimation is the most common notice you'll receive after filing your ITR. It's not an investigation. It's not a threat. It's the system doing its job — and now you know how to do yours.
Q1. How do I open the Section 143(1) intimation PDF — what's the password?
Your password is your PAN number in lowercase letters, followed directly by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format — no spaces, no dashes, nothing in between. So PAN ABCDE1234E with DOB 15th March 1990 becomes abcde1234e15031990. If that's not working, double-check that you're using lowercase for the PAN — it won't open with uppercase. Also make sure your DOB format is exactly 8 digits, so single-digit days and months get a leading zero (like 05 not 5).
Q2. What happens if I don't respond to Section 143(1) intimation within 30 days?
If it's purely a "no demand/no refund" intimation, nothing happens — there's no action required to begin with. But if the intimation includes a tax demand and you don't respond within 30 days, the CPC proceeds with the adjustment without giving you another chance to object. Interest under Section 220 starts piling up at 1% per month on the unpaid amount, and the Assessing Officer can additionally impose a penalty under Section 221. So don't sit on it — even a "disagree" response logged on the portal stops the clock.
Q3. I filed my return months ago but got no Section 143(1) intimation — what does that mean?
Could be a few things. Your return might still be in the processing queue — the CPC has up to nine months from the end of the filing financial year to send the intimation, so there's no reason to worry if it's been a few weeks. Check your spam folder first, since the email comes from a CPC address and sometimes gets filtered. If the email isn't there, log in to the e-filing portal and download the Intimation Order directly from View Filed Returns. If nothing appears at all, your return is likely still pending processing.
Q4. What's the difference between filing a revised return and a Section 154 rectification?
Two totally different things, and mixing them up is a common mistake. A revised return is for when you made an error — wrong income entered, deduction you forgot to claim, that sort of thing. You're correcting your own filing. A Section 154 rectification is for when the department made an error — the CPC applied an incorrect adjustment or computed something wrongly in the intimation. You use 154 to point out the department's mistake, not your own. Filing the wrong one doesn't fix the problem and wastes time.
Q5. Can I get a refund if Section 143(1) shows no demand?
It depends on what the intimation actually shows. If the outcome is "no demand/no refund" — meaning your filing and the department's computation matched — there's no refund coming from this round of processing. But if the intimation shows an excess tax payment on your side (more than Rs. 100), the refund is initiated automatically and credited to the bank account you specified in your ITR. You don't need to apply separately. Check your ITR status on the portal under "Refund/Demand Status" to track where it stands.
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