Demanding from Income Tax
An Income Tax Demand is a formal communication from the Income Tax Department stating that you owe additional tax, interest, or penalty. This may arise due to mistakes in your ITR, under-reporting of income, mismatch in TDS, or after an assessment or scrutiny by the department.
The demand is usually issued through a Notice under Section 156 of the Income Tax Act and can be viewed on the Income Tax e-Filing portal.
Common Reasons for Tax Demand:
- Disallowance of deductions or exemptions
- TDS mismatch or not reflected in Form 26AS
- Advance tax or self-assessment tax shortfall
- Income omitted or wrongly reported in return
How to Respond:
- Login to the e-Filing portal and go to “e-Proceedings” or “Pending Actions
- Response to Outstanding Demand
- Pay the demand if it's correct (via Challan 280)
- Submit a response if you disagree (e.g., "Demand is incorrect" with reasons)
- Keep a record of the payment or response submission