Dealing with a Notice under Section 245

Any notice received by the Income Tax Department could be a cause for worry for you. But you needn’t feel insecure because many notices are mere intimations or communications of an action performed by the official and call for no action on your part.

What is a notice under Section 245?

A notice under Section 245 essentially tells you that the Income Tax official has adjusted the tax refund due to you against the tax that is payable by you but not paid yet.

This intimation may be sent to you on the directions of an Assessing Officer, Income Tax Commissioner or Principal Income Tax Commissioner on appeal.

Where can I check pending tax notices?

Pending tax notices can be checked on the income tax portal.

After logging in you simply need to click on “My pending actions” to see if there is a notice asking you to perform a task.

If you see such a notice, you will also see a description detailing why the tax authority has sent you the post. For a communication mentioning outstanding demand, you simply have to click on Submit after paying the tax (usually through challan 280). If the Submit button is not available, that means that the tax official has already adjusted your refund against the outstanding. This would confirm the intimation under 245.

You will see options on a drop down list to do one of the following:

1. Agree to the demand if you feel that the dues are justified.
2. The demand is partially correct so you may argue your point by choosing this option.
3. You disagree with the demand, in which case, you can choose appropriate options and put in remarks where asked.

What if I do not know which Option to Select?

Often, you might not be able to tell whether a demand is correct or not and you wish to know how you can challenge the decision. In such an event, we recommend that you contact one of our tax experts for help with the notice.

You would be required to share a copy of the letter or mail received by you and necessary documents concerning your income tax. Your file would then be reviewed and you will be advised appropriately.

If you want you can also ask the expert to file revised returns or rectified returns for you.

By when should I respond to a tax notice?

Usually, you are informed of the maximum time you can take to respond to the notice in terms of days of receiving the notification. So, do scan the post for this detail because, otherwise, the government will consider your tax returns not made and penalize you for it.

Many queries are case-specific and require tailored responses. Please get in touch with our experts for a particular solution to a vexing tax problem here.