As soon as your filed and verified income tax return (ITR) is processed by the centralised processing centre (CPC) of the Income Tax Department, you get a Section 143 (1) intimation notice on your email. However, this document, which is typically a PDF file remains locked and can only be opened with a password. The problem which taxpayers face is that they are not aware about the password to open this file. Read below to know more about Section 143(1) intimation notice and how to open this file.
What is the password for Section 143(1) intimation notice?
The Section 143(1) intimation notice is password-protected. To open the file on your device, enter your PAN in lowercase, followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format.
For example, if your PAN is ABCDE4321F and your birth date is 02/02/2000, the password to unlock the 143 (1) intimation notice will be “abcde4321f02022000.”
What is Section 143(1) intimation notice?
The Income Tax Department will give you an intimation under section 143 (1) of the Income Tax Act once your ITR documentation has been processed, letting you know if you owe any additional tax or if you are due for a refund. It is critical that you read and understand this notice of income tax. This is because this notice informs you whether the income tax calculation you provided in your ITR matches the information held by the tax department.
The tax department examines for any errors, internal inconsistencies, tax and interest calculation, and confirms tax payment made, among other things, when processing ITRs. The tax department does a preliminary check while processing ITRs. They can still issue you an income tax notice in the future, asking for more information under a different Section. This notice is one of the most important documents that you get from the income tax department. This is because in this notice, the income tax department explains how exactly they have calculated your income vs what you submitted in the ITR and if you are eligible for a tax refund or tax demand or no further action is required from your end. Ignoring this notice might prove to be a costly mistake, especially in cases where this notice says you have a tax demand outstanding. ” If an taxpayer has an outstanding tax demand as per the intimation notice then interest at 1% per month (or part thereof) will continue to accrue until the demand is paid. This situation does not fall under tax evasion but is considered a case of non-compliance or negligence,” says Chartered Accountant Abhishek Soni, co-founder, Tax2Win.
Do note that if you have not yet received any Section 143 (1) intimation notice, it can mean your ITR has not yet been processed by the CPC. The CPC has the power to process an ITR and send Section 143 (1) intimation notices within 9 months from the end of the financial year in which the Income Tax Return (ITR) was filed.
What checks does CPC conduct on ITRs?
When you get a Section 143 (1) intimation notice it only means a preliminary check has been made by the CPC and your ITR has satisfied this check. If your ITR is of such nature that a more thorough check is required, then the CPC will refer the ITR to the assessing officer (AO) for detailed enquiry.
CPC performs these checks:
- any arithmetical error in the return; or
- an incorrect claim (*), if such incorrect claim is apparent from any information in the return;
- disallowance of loss claimed, if return of the previous year for which set-off of loss is claimed was furnished beyond the due date specified under section 139(1); or
- disallowance of expenditure indicated in the audit report but not taken into account in computing the total income in the return; or
- disallowance of deduction claimed u/s 10AA, 80IA to 80-IE, if the return is furnished beyond the due date specified under section 139(1); or
- addition of income appearing in Form 26AS or Form 16A or Form 16 which has not been included in computing the total income in the return. However, no such adjustment shall be made in relation to a return furnished for the assessment year 2018-19 and thereafter.
