What is the password for the Section 143(1) intimation PDF?

Your PAN in lower case, immediately followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format, with no space or separator. For PAN ABCDE1234F and a date of birth of 1 January 1990, the password is abcde1234f01011990.

Is a 143(1) intimation the same as a scrutiny notice?

No. Section 143(1) is automated processing that every return goes through, checking arithmetic and matching your figures against departmental records. Scrutiny is a separate, selective process under Section 143(2), which involves an Assessing Officer examining your return in detail. Receiving a 143(1) intimation says nothing about whether you will be scrutinised.

What should I do if the intimation shows a demand I disagree with?

File a rectification request under Section 154 through the e-filing portal rather than filing a revised return, and attach the evidence supporting your figure. If the difference comes from TDS missing in Form 26AS, the correction has to be made by the deductor in their TDS return first, because the credit cannot appear at your end until it exists at theirs.

What if I never received an intimation?

Check the e-filing portal under the returns section, where processed intimations are available for download regardless of whether the email reached you. If a return remains unprocessed well past the usual timeline, confirm first that it was e-verified, since an unverified return is treated as never filed and is never processed.

Income Tax

Section 143(1)Intimation After Return Processing

Section 143(1) is the automated processing of your return, and the intimation it produces is the department's arithmetic check telling you it agrees with your figures, owes you a refund, or wants more tax.

Income-tax Act, 1961Reviewed 19 August 2026

In short

This is not a scrutiny notice. It is automated processing, and receiving one does not mean you have been selected for examination.
It compares your return against the department's own records, principally Form 26AS and the AIS, and against internal arithmetic consistency.
Three outcomes: no difference, a refund due, or a demand raised. The comparison table in the intimation shows your figure beside the computed figure line by line.
The PDF is password-protected. The password is your PAN in lower case followed by your date of birth in DDMMYYYY format, with no space.
There is a time limit for responding to a demand, and ignoring it lets the demand become enforceable and available for adjustment against future refunds under Section 245.

Who it applies to

Every taxpayer who files a return, since processing under this section is automatic rather than selective
Anyone who has received an email from the department with a password-protected PDF after filing
Taxpayers whose refund has been computed, adjusted, or denied

How it works

Almost every return filed in India passes through Section 143(1), and the intimation it generates is the most widely received and least understood communication the department sends. It arrives by email as a password-protected PDF, it carries the alarming word 'intimation', and it looks like a notice. It generally is not one. It is a machine comparing what you reported against what it already knows and telling you whether the two agree.

The comparison itself is worth reading properly, because the document is built for exactly that. It sets out your return's figures in one column and the department's computed figures in another, line by line: gross total income, each deduction claimed, taxable income, tax payable, TDS credited, interest under Sections 234A, 234B and 234C, and the final refund or demand. Where a row differs, the discrepancy is right there, and in the large majority of cases it traces back to one of a short list of causes.

The most common by far is a mismatch between the TDS you claimed and the TDS actually reflected in Form 26AS, which usually means a deductor filed their return late, filed it against the wrong PAN, or did not file it at all. Next most common is a deduction disallowed because it was not substantiated in the return, or claimed under a regime that does not permit it, which has become frequent as taxpayers move between the old and new regimes. Arithmetic differences in interest computation account for most of the remainder, and those are typically the department being right.

What you do next depends entirely on which of you is correct. If the intimation is right and you underpaid, pay the demand within the period specified. If you are right, you file a rectification request under Section 154 rather than a fresh return, attaching the evidence for the figure you claimed. If the underlying problem is a deductor's error, the fix is with the deductor: they have to correct their TDS return before the credit will appear in your 26AS, and no amount of rectification at your end will conjure it.

The consequence of doing nothing is the part people underestimate. An unpaid demand does not lapse quietly. It sits on your account, attracts interest, and becomes available for automatic adjustment against any future refund under Section 245, which is how taxpayers end up discovering a five-year-old demand when a current-year refund fails to arrive.

Also searched as: 143(1) intimation, intimation under section 143(1), income tax intimation, section 143 1 notice.

Frequently asked questions

Worked detail on this section

Current rates, limits, and step-by-step process live in these guides, which are kept updated as the law moves.

Intimation Under Section 143(1): How to Read It and Fix a Mismatch

A 143(1) intimation isn't a scrutiny notice, it's a receipt for arithmetic. Here's how to read the two columns and what to do when they disagree.

Form 26AS and AIS: How to Reconcile Your Tax Credits Before Filing

Form 26AS tracks tax already paid; AIS tracks almost everything else. A practical walkthrough of reconciling both before a mismatch turns into a notice.

ITR Refund Not Received? How to Find Out What's Actually Blocking It

A refund that hasn't landed is almost never the department losing your money. It's usually one of five specific, fixable blockages. Here's how to find yours.

Income Tax Notices Explained: What Each One Actually Means

Not every income tax notice is bad news. Here's what 143(1), 139(9), 143(2), 148, and 245 notices actually mean, and the specific next step each one needs.

Forms involved

Form 26AS ITR-1 ITR-2

Related sections

139(9) Defective Return NoticeSection 139(9) is the provision under which the department tells you your return is incomplete and gives you a limited window to fix it before the return is treated as never filed.245 Adjustment of Refund Against Outstanding DemandSection 245 lets the department set a refund due to you against tax demands outstanding from earlier years, after giving you an opportunity to respond.

Primary sources

Disclaimer

This page explains what a statutory provision does in general terms. It is not a substitute for the bare act, and it is not professional tax or legal advice. Rates, thresholds, and limits change with each Finance Act, and applicability turns on facts specific to you. Confirm anything that affects a real filing with a qualified Chartered Accountant.

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