India's Tax Authority urges document reconciliation and warns of June 30 scrutiny notice

The Income Tax Department has asked Indian taxpayers to reconcile key documents—Form 16, the Annual Information Statement and Form 26AS—before filing returns for Assessment Year 2026‑27. Matching these records with bank and broker statements helps avoid discrepancies, notices, processing delays or the need for revised returns.

The deadline to file returns for the financial year 2025‑26 is July 31, 2026, but the department may issue a scrutiny notice under Section 143(2) by June 30. Taxpayers should monitor the e‑filing portal’s Worklist, respond promptly to any notice and supply requested documents to prevent penalties, interest or refund delays.

First‑time users must register on the Income Tax e‑filing portal using a PAN, mobile number and email address, verify via OTP and set a password. Registration enables filing returns online, checking refund status, downloading ITR‑V acknowledgments, PDFs and other tax documents, and receiving official notices. Early filing and thorough verification are emphasized to ensure smooth processing.