What does an intimation under section 143(1) (now section 270(1)) mean, and what should I do?

An intimation under section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (now section 270(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025) is the first step after you file. Returns for FY 2025-26 and earlier years are processed under the 1961 Act; returns for tax year 2026-27 onwards will be processed under the 2025 Act on the same lines.

What the intimation shows

The intimation compares the figures as you filed them with the figures as computed by the department. There are three possible outcomes:

• No difference: the return is accepted as filed. No action is needed.
• Refund: the refund is confirmed, or changed.
• Demand: tax is payable, with a due date (usually 30 days).

Adjustments allowed at this stage are limited to arithmetic errors, claims that are incorrect on the face of the return, mismatches with Form 26AS, the AIS (Form 168 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026) or the tax audit report (Form 3CD, now Form 26), late-filing disallowances and similar items. Before making most adjustments, the department must first send a proposed adjustment online (now section 270(2)) and consider your response, usually within 30 days.

What to do

1. Download the intimation from the e-filing portal and open your filed return and computation.
2. Compare each line. Common causes are TDS missing from Form 26AS, interest or dividends in the AIS not shown in the return, deductions disallowed because supporting details were missing, and arithmetic or relief errors.
3. If the department is right, pay the demand (or accept the reduced refund) using the challan option in the "Response to Outstanding Demand" service.
4. If the department is wrong:
   • first fix the cause if it is at the deductor's end, for example by asking the deductor to correct their TDS return;
   • then file an online rectification request (section 154, now section 287);
   • or, where the issue is one of law or facts that rectification cannot fix, file an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) under section 246A (now section 357), in Form 35 (now Form 99), within 30 days of the intimation.
5. Respond to the demand on the portal ("disagree with demand", with reasons), so that the refund of a later year is not set off against it automatically under section 245 (now section 438).

Time limits

An intimation for a return can be sent up to nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed (now section 270(4)). A rectification order can be passed within four years from the end of the financial year of the order being corrected.

An intimation is not a scrutiny assessment, but ignoring a demand can lead to recovery action and the adjustment of future refunds.