Received a tax department advisory about an ITR mismatch? This is its meaning. A number of taxpayers got advisory messages from the Income Tax (I-T) Department recently addressing differences between the information they reported on their income tax filings and the information they received from reporting companies.
Taxpayers are now worried about this, and many have expressed their concerns on social media. It is imperative to make clear that these advisories are messages from the tax department rather than official notices.
The Income Tax Department has received several referrals to correspondence that was recently sent to taxpayers about a transaction or transactions that they had completed.
Please take note that the purpose of this message is to inform and assist taxpayers about the information that the Income Tax Department has on file about the transactions that the Reporting Entities reported throughout the year.
The I-T Department’s reply further stated, “It is not a notice sent to all taxpayers, but is an advisory sent in those cases where there is an apparent mismatch between disclosures in the ITR and information as received from the Reporting Entity.”
The tax department continued by emphasizing that the goal is to give taxpayers the opportunity to amend returns that they have already submitted or to file the return if they haven’t already.
Taxpayers are asked to reply to the message as soon as possible. December 31, 2023, is the deadline for amending or filing late returns for Assessment Year 2023–2024.
Received an ITR mismatch alert? Be at ease.
To put it another way, taxpayers who receive these warning messages are those whose information on their income tax returns (ITRs) differs from that provided by reporting organizations on the Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT).
Data on high-value transactions is filed by reporting entities, such as banks, mutual funds, NBFCs, brokers, and mutual funds. This data is then cross-referenced with the data in ITRs.
December 31 is the last day to file or modify an ITR if there are any problems or if a taxpayer has missed the filing deadline.
Tax professionals advise taxpayers to use the compliance site to submit any relevant feedback if they receive such advice. They are urged to file a belated return by the December 31, 2023 deadline if they haven’t yet filed their returns.
This proactive strategy guarantees that any unintentional mistakes or omissions are corrected, averting future issues. Furthermore, taxpayers can use the portal to report discrepancies and clarify any questions they may have.
