Income Tax Alert : In recent days, millions of taxpayers across the country have received emails or mobile messages from the Income Tax Department. These messages mention large deposits in bank accounts, property sales and purchases, share or mutual fund investments, and other high-value expenses. Seeing these messages, many people panicked and wondered if they were a fake notice or a scam. Now, the Income Tax Department has clarified that these messages are completely genuine and official.
The Income Tax Department has clarified that this advisory has not been sent to all taxpayers. It has been sent only to those who have significant and obvious discrepancies between the information provided in their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) and the data available with the department. According to the department, this information is obtained from banks, mutual fund houses, registrars, and other reporting entities. Taxpayers are alerted only when there is a mismatch between the ITR and this data.
The Income Tax Department stated on X that such messages are not intended to scare taxpayers. They are intended as a form of assistance and warning to ensure that people check their information in a timely manner. The department encourages taxpayers to correct their errors themselves to avoid the need for notices, penalties, or legal action later.
The Annual Information Statement (AIS) plays a crucial role in this entire system. The AIS contains information about your financial activities throughout the year, such as bank transactions, investments, and major expenses. If a taxpayer has misreported any income or transactions correctly in their ITR, the discrepancy is revealed in the AIS. Based on this, taxpayers are given the opportunity to provide feedback or correct their returns through the compliance portal.
If you’ve received such a message, there’s no need to panic. First, log in to incometax.gov.in, check your AIS and TIS, and see where the error is. If the information is incorrect, provide feedback there. If the error is yours, file a revised or belated ITR. The deadline for filing this for assessment year 2025-26 is December 31, 2025.