Notice under section 142(1): inquiry before assessment
A notice under section 142(1) is the Assessing Officer asking questions before an assessment is made. It can require you to file a return you never filed, produce books of account, or answer in writing on specific transactions. It is not an accusation — but non-compliance converts it into a best-judgement assessment, and that is where the money is lost.
What a section 142(1) notice is
Section 142(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 — now section 268(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — gives the Assessing Officer three distinct powers, and the notice you receive will use one or more of them.
Under section 268(1)(a) the Officer may require you to "furnish a return of his income... in such form and verified in such manner... as may be prescribed". This is the version issued to non-filers. Under section 268(1)(b) the Officer may require you "to produce... such accounts or documents as the Assessing Officer may require". Under section 268(1)(c) the Officer may require you "to furnish in writing... information... as the Assessing Officer may require", including, in an appropriate case, a statement of all assets and liabilities.
The section carries two safeguards that taxpayers rarely invoke and should. Section 268(2)(a) provides that "the previous approval of the Joint Commissioner shall be obtained... before requiring the assessee to furnish a statement of all assets and liabilities not included in the accounts". Section 268(2)(b) provides that "the Assessing Officer shall not require the production of any accounts relating to a period more than three years prior to the relevant tax year". If a notice asks for records from eight years ago, that request is outside the section.
A related power sits at section 268(5) — the direction for a special audit, corresponding to section 142(2A) of the 1961 Act. That is a serious escalation, made with higher approval, and it is not part of a routine 142(1).
How worried should you be?
Less than for a scrutiny notice, more than for a processing intimation.
A 142(1) is an inquiry, not a finding. In many cases it is generated because a return simply was not filed for a year in which the department holds data showing income — a property registration, a large TDS entry, an SFT report of cash deposits or share sales. Filing the return, with the tax paid, often ends the matter.
Where it becomes serious is on non-compliance. Failure to comply is one of the express triggers for a best-judgement assessment under section 271 of the 2025 Act, which recites that where a person "fails to comply with all the terms of a notice issued under section 268(1)" or a direction under section 268(5), the Assessing Officer "shall, after giving the assessee an opportunity of being heard, make the assessment of the total income or loss to the best of his judgment". Best judgement means the Officer's estimate, built from bank credits, GST turnover and AIS entries, with no deduction you have not evidenced.
Also note: a 142(1) is frequently the opening move in a sequence. Comply properly and the file often closes. Comply badly and a notice under section 270(8) — scrutiny — follows.
Statutory position under the 2025 Act
| Provision under the 1961 Act | Corresponding provision, Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|
| 142(1)(i) — call for return | 268(1)(a) |
| 142(1)(ii) — production of accounts | 268(1)(b) |
| 142(1)(iii) — call for information | 268(1)(c) |
| 142(2A) — special audit direction | 268(5) |
| 143(1) — processing | 270(1) |
| 143(2) — scrutiny | 270(8) |
| 143(3) — assessment order | 270(10) |
| 144 — best-judgement assessment | 271 |
| 144B — faceless assessment | 273 |
| 153 — time limit for completion of assessment | 286 |
| 139 — return of income | 263 |
| 156 — notice of demand | 289 |
| 234A / 234B / 234C / 234F | 423 / 424 / 425 / 428 |
| 270A — under-reporting penalty | 439 |
| 276CC — prosecution for failure to furnish return | 479 |
| 272A(1)(d) — penalty for non-compliance with a notice | The corresponding penalty provision of the 2025 Act; we have not been able to verify the renumbering |
The deadlines
| Event | Limit |
|---|---|
| Department's time to issue a 268(1) notice | No fixed outer limit in the section itself; it may be issued after the end of the tax year, but the assessment it leads to must be completed within the section 286 time limit |
| Your time to respond | As specified in the notice — typically 15 days, sometimes 7 or 30. It is stated on the face of the notice |
| Extension | By written request through the portal, before the date expires |
| Completion of the resulting assessment under section 270(10) | One year from the end of the financial year succeeding the relevant tax year — section 286 |
| Accounts that may be called for | Not more than three years prior to the relevant tax year — section 268(2)(b) |
The deadline on the notice is the operative one. Note it the day the notice arrives, because extensions are granted before expiry, not after.
What triggers a 142(1) notice
| Trigger | Typical fact pattern |
|---|---|
| Return not filed at all for a year with visible income | TDS in Form 26AS, or an AIS entry, and no return on record |
| Cash deposits reported under the SFT rules | Aggregate cash deposits in a savings or current account crossing the reporting threshold |
| Purchase or sale of immovable property | Registrar reporting to the department; property bought for ₹65,00,000 against declared income of ₹4,00,000 |
| Sale of shares or mutual fund units | Depository and RTA reporting; capital gains not appearing in the return |
| High-value credit card settlements or foreign remittances | Reported by banks and authorised dealers |
| TDS credit claimed without corresponding income | Receipts in 26AS exceeding turnover declared |
| GST turnover materially higher than income tax turnover | Cross-matching between the two systems |
| Foreign assets or foreign income | Information received under exchange-of-information arrangements; Schedule FA left blank by a resident and ordinarily resident |
| Deduction claimed without proof | HRA claimed with no landlord PAN where annual rent exceeds ₹1,00,000; 80C claimed where the default regime applies; 80G donation not reported by the donee |
| Business income shown as speculative or vice versa | F&O treated as speculative; intraday equity treated as normal business |
| Large refund claim | Refunds out of line with declared income and TDS pattern |
A pattern worth naming for MSME clients: a proprietor whose GST returns show ₹1,80,00,000 of outward supplies and whose income tax return shows ₹42,00,000 of turnover will get a letter. The two systems talk to each other.
How to respond on the e-filing portal
Log in at incometax.gov.in and go to Pending Actions > e-Proceedings, then Self. A notice issued by an Assessing Officer appears under the general notices category rather than under a labelled CPC heading, so read the description carefully. Click View Notice to open the proceeding and Notice/Letter pdf to download the notice, which sets out the questionnaire, the annexure of documents required and the response date.
To reply, click Submit Response. You enter your remarks against each item and attach supporting documents; each attachment is limited to 5 MB, so large ledgers must be split and named clearly. Tick the declaration and submit. The portal issues a Transaction ID — save it, because it is your proof of compliance.
If the notice requires a return under section 268(1)(a), submitting a response on e-Proceedings is not enough. You must also file the return itself. Use e-File > Income Tax Returns > File Income Tax Return, select the correct tax year and form, and choose the option to file in response to a notice, quoting the notice number and date. Verify it immediately — Aadhaar OTP, net banking or DSC.
Before you draft anything, pull the department's own view of your year at e-File > Income Tax Returns > View AIS (or the Annual Information Statement (AIS) menu on the dashboard, then Proceed). Reconcile every entry. Where an AIS entry is genuinely wrong — a transaction reported against your PAN that is not yours, or duplicated — open the entry, use the Optional button in the Feedback column, select the appropriate feedback option and submit; keep the acknowledgement receipt and refer to it in your reply.
If you need more time, submit a written adjournment request through the same proceeding before the response date, giving a specific reason and a specific new date. Vague requests are refused.
What happens if you ignore it
Three things happen, and they compound.
First, a penalty for non-compliance. Under the 1961 Act this was ₹10,000 for each default under section 272A(1)(d); the 2025 Act carries an equivalent provision, though we have not been able to verify its number, so we describe it as the corresponding penalty provision. Each unanswered notice is a separate default.
Second, best-judgement assessment under section 271. The Officer estimates your income from whatever material is available. In practice this means every credit in your bank statement treated as receipts, no allowance for cost or expenditure you have not proved, and no deduction under Chapter VI-A. A trading business with ₹2,40,00,000 of bank credits and a 4 per cent real margin can find itself assessed on a substantially higher figure, with tax, interest under section 424 and penalty under section 439 at 50 per cent of the tax on under-reported income — or 200 per cent if misreporting is alleged.
Third, where the notice required a return and none was filed, prosecution exposure under section 479 of the 2025 Act, the old section 276CC, with rigorous imprisonment from three months to two years, and from six months to seven years where the tax sought to be evaded is large. Prosecution is not routine, but the department does pursue it in cases of repeated, deliberate non-filing with significant tax at stake.
Best-judgement assessments are appealable, and many are reduced on appeal. That is not a comfort. An appeal takes years, requires part-payment of the demand to obtain a stay, and costs more in fees and management time than complying would have.
Rectification, revised return or updated return
At the 142(1) stage the return itself is usually the instrument in play, not a rectification.
| Situation | Right instrument |
|---|---|
| Notice under 268(1)(a) requiring a return you never filed | File the return in response to the notice, quoting its details |
| Return already filed but you now realise income was omitted, and 31 March following the tax year has not passed | Revised return under section 263(5) — but file it before the assessment is completed, because the section requires it |
| Both the belated and revised windows are gone and there is additional income to declare | Updated return under section 263(6), within 48 months of the end of the financial year succeeding the tax year |
| An order has already been passed containing an obvious error | Rectification under section 287 (the old section 154), within four years from the end of the financial year in which the order was passed |
Time limits, in short: belated return 31 December following the tax year (nine months from its end, section 263(4)); revised return 31 March following (twelve months, section 263(5), with a fee under section 428(b) if filed after nine months); updated return within 48 months, with additional tax of 25 per cent within 12 months, 50 per cent between 12 and 24 months, 60 per cent between 24 and 36 months and 70 per cent between 36 and 48 months.
An updated return cannot reduce your liability or create a refund, and it is unavailable after a search or survey, where prosecution has been launched, and in the final part of the window once reassessment proceedings have started. So the strategic point is this: if a 142(1) has landed and you know the return understated income, decide quickly whether to declare it yourself. Once an assessment is made, the updated return route is gone and only appeal remains.
Interest and fee exposure
| Charge | Old section | New section | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| Late filing of return | 234A | 423 | 1% per month or part on unpaid tax from the due date to filing, or to completion of assessment where no return is filed |
| Advance tax shortfall | 234B | 424 | 1% per month where advance tax paid is below 90% of assessed tax |
| Deferment of instalments | 234C | 425 | 1% per month against the 15%, 45%, 75% and 100% milestones |
| Fee for late return | 234F | 428 | ₹5,000; ₹1,000 where total income does not exceed ₹5,00,000 |
Section 424 is the one that hurts in a 142(1) case. Where no return was filed and an assessment is eventually made, interest at 1 per cent a month on the whole assessed tax runs from the beginning of the tax year that follows. On a ₹6,00,000 assessed liability finalised two years late, that is roughly ₹1,44,000 of interest alone.
Practical mistakes we see
Sending a reply by email to the Assessing Officer's office rather than through e-Proceedings — off the record, it does not count as compliance. Uploading a 40 MB scanned ledger that the portal rejects, and treating the rejection as submission. Answering the questionnaire selectively, leaving three of eleven items blank, which is a partial compliance and still a default. Producing accounts for periods the Officer is not entitled to demand, instead of politely citing section 268(2)(b). Filing the return demanded under 268(1)(a) but never verifying it. And, most costly, treating an adjournment request as granted the moment it is filed — it is granted when the Officer says so.
When to handle it yourself and when to get help
Handle it yourself where the notice simply asks for a return for a year you overlooked, the income is straightforward — salary, interest, a single property sale you can compute — and the tax can be paid. Filing the return with the tax paid, and a short covering response, usually closes it.
Get help where the notice asks for books of account, where the questionnaire runs to more than a handful of items, where the department's AIS data materially exceeds what you have declared, where the year involves capital gains, foreign assets, cash deposits or a GST-to-income-tax turnover gap, or where you have already missed one response date. Get help immediately if the notice mentions a direction under section 268(5) — a special audit is a different order of proceeding and needs representation from the first day.
Common questions
What is the difference between a notice under section 142(1) and one under section 143(2)?
A 142(1) notice — now section 268(1) — is an inquiry before assessment: it can require you to file a return, produce accounts or furnish information, and it may be issued whether or not you have filed. A 143(2) notice — now section 270(8) — can only be issued where a return exists, and it means the return has been selected for scrutiny. A 142(1) often precedes a scrutiny; it is not itself one.
How long do I have to reply to a section 142(1) notice?
Whatever period the notice specifies, which is commonly 15 days but can be shorter or longer. The section does not fix a statutory response period — the Assessing Officer sets it. If you need more time, submit an adjournment request through e-Proceedings before the stated date expires, with a specific reason and a specific new date.
Can the Assessing Officer ask for records going back ten years?
No. Section 268(2)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 provides that the Assessing Officer "shall not require the production of any accounts relating to a period more than three years prior to the relevant tax year". A request beyond that is outside the section, and you can say so politely in your response while complying with everything within the period.
What is the penalty for not responding to a section 142(1) notice?
Non-compliance attracts a penalty for each default — ₹10,000 per default under section 272A(1)(d) of the 1961 Act, with an equivalent provision carried into the 2025 Act. More seriously, it authorises a best-judgement assessment under section 271, where your income is estimated without the benefit of unproved deductions, and where the return was never filed it opens prosecution exposure under section 479.
I got a 142(1) notice for a year in which I had no taxable income. What do I do?
Respond anyway, and file the return if the notice requires one. A nil or below-threshold return costs you nothing and closes the inquiry. Silence, by contrast, lets the Officer estimate your income from the bank and AIS data that prompted the notice in the first place — and a best-judgement assessment on gross bank credits is far harder to unwind than a return filed on time.
Can I file an updated return after receiving a 142(1) notice?
You may still have the option if the 48-month window under section 263(6) is open and none of the statutory bars applies — no search or survey, no prosecution initiated, and the return must not reduce your liability or create a refund. But once the assessment is completed the option is gone, so the decision has to be made early. In practice, where a notice has already been issued, filing the return the notice demands, correctly and completely, is usually the better route.
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More in this series
- Form GST ASMT-10 scrutiny notice and how to reply in ASMT-11
- Form GST DRC-01A pre-notice intimation and how to reply in Part B
- Form GST DRC-01 show cause notice under section 73 and section 74
- Form GST REG-31 intimation and how to stop suspension of your GSTIN
- Intimation under section 143(1): what it means and how to respond