How To Authenticate & Check A Notice Or Order Issued By ITD

When you receive an income tax notice, the first thing you must do before responding or worrying about it is to check whether it is genuine. Generally, fake income tax notices do exist and taking action on a fraudulent notice can lead to financial loss or unnecessary complications.

The Income Tax Department provides a quick, free online tool to authenticate any income tax notice or order issued through its system. Authenticating a notice generally takes only five minutes of your time, but saves you from many complications.

In this guide, we will help you with both available authentication methods, common issues you might run into, and what to do if a notice cannot be verified.

Why Is It Important To Authenticate An Income Tax Notice

Every income tax order or notice is issued by the Indian Income Tax Department and generated through a centralized system. Every income tax notice or order issued through the department's system generally carries a DIN and is linked to the taxpayer's PAN and assessment details. This makes the verification process straightforward.

For you as a taxpayer, the authentication of a notice before responding to it is essential for the following reasons:

• Authentication helps confirm that the notice is genuine and not part of a fraudulent communication attempt.
• It confirms that the notice was issued officially and is on the records with the department.
• Authentication of an income tax notice online protects you from making payments or sharing documents in response to fraudulent communications.
• Plus, the authentication of the notice gives you the correct details, such as the section issuing authority, the assessment year, and so on, so that your response is accurate.
• A notice received via WhatsApp or email without any corresponding entry in the e-Filing portal should be treated with caution. Hence, always cross-check the income tax notice's authenticity and be proactive.

A Step-By-Step Guide On How To Authenticate The Notice

The following is a step-by-step approach to authenticating an income tax notice.

• Step 1: Go to the income tax e-Filing portal homepage.
• Step 2: Click on the "Authenticate Notice / Order Issued By ITD"
• Step 3: Select either one of the following options to authenticate the notice/order.

3.1 - If you select the option - PAN, Document Type, Date of Issue, and Mobile Number.

• Step 1: Select PAN, Document types, Assessment Year, Date of Issue, and mobile number.
• Step 2: Enter PAN, select document types and Assessment Year, enter Mobile number and date of issuance, then click continue.
• Step 3: Enter the 6-digit OTP received on the mobile number you entered in Step 2, then click Continue.

Once the OTP is validated, the notice's document number and date of issue will be displayed.

3.2: If you select the option- Documents Identification Number & Mobile Number

• Step 1: Select the DIN (Document Identification Number) and Mobile Number.
• Step 2: Enter the Document Identification Number and the Mobile Number and click Continue.
• Step 3: Enter the 6-digit OTP received on the mobile number you entered in Step 2, then click Continue.

Please Note:

• OTP will be valid for 15 minutes only.
• You will have three attempts to enter the correct OTP.
• The on-screen OTP expiry countdown timer tells you when the OTP will expire.
• Upon clicking Resend OTP, a new OTP will be generated and sent.

Once the OTP is validated, a success message will be displayed.

Note: If no notice is issued by the Income Tax Department, a message will appear: "No record found for the given document number."

Common Issues While Authenticating an Income Tax Notice

Generally, all authentication attempts for notices went smoothly; however, a few issues can arise regularly, especially for NRIs and taxpayers whose portal details haven't been updated recently.

The following are common issues that arise when authorizing an Income Tax Notice.

OTP Not Received

This is one of the most common and frequently rising problems. It usually happens because:

• The registered mobile number on the portal is either outdated or inactive.
• The registered mobile number is unable to receive OTP messages.
• There is a delay in the network. Please wait for 2-3 minutes before requesting a resend.

If your registered mobile number is inactive, please log in to the e-filing portal and update it in your profile settings before attempting to authenticate the notice again.

For NRIs: If you are living outside India and your Indian SIM is inactive, updating your primary mobile number to an active international number or an NRE/NRO-linked account number is worth doing sooner rather than later, in case you need it urgently.

Incorrect Details Entered

The authentication system requires exact details. Even a single incorrect digit in the notice number or an incorrect date format can cause authentication to fail. A notice number with even one wrong digit, or a date entered in the wrong format, will result in a failed number. Before you assume the notice is fake, re-enter the details carefully and try again.

Check whether the notice number includes the prefix letter (like ITBA/AST/etc), and whether you need to include it or just the numeric portion- the portal instruction usually clarifies this.

Mobile Number Mismatch

If the mobile number you entered does not match the one registered with your PAN on the portal, you will not receive the OTP. Understand that this is different from an incorrect notice detail; it is somewhat a profile issue.

Log in to your e-filing account, check the mobile number under your profile, and either use that number for authentication or update it to your current active number first.

What to Do If the Notice Cannot Be Authenticated

If you have entered every detail correctly and the income tax notice still does not authenticate, here is how to handle it.

• Step 1: Try an Alternative: If method 1 fails, try method 2 using the DIN or vice versa. Generally, some old notices authenticate better through one method than another.
• Step 2: Check the Source of Notice: Was the income tax notice received only by email or by postal mail without any corresponding entry in the e-filing portal inbox? If yes, log in to the portal and check under "e-proceedings" and "Notices"; any genuine and legitimate notices by the income tax department will always appear here.
• Step 3: Contact The Income Tax Helpline: Call 1800-103-0025 (toll-free) or 1800-419-0025 for the notice details. They can help verify whether the notice exists in the department's records.
• Step 4: Do Not Make Payments: If you have been asked repeatedly to pay an amount and the notice has not yet been authenticated, do not pay until you can verify it on the official portal. Fraudsters often send fake demand notices using UPI IDs or third-party bank accounts. Tax payments should be made only through official Income Tax Department payment channels and authorised banking platforms.
• Step 5: Report Suspected Fraud: If you believe the notice was fraudulent, be proactive by reporting it to the Cybercrime Portal (cybercrime.gov.in) and informing your jurisdiction's income tax officer.

The Bottom Line

For a taxpayer, authenticating an income tax notice online is quick and free, and you must do it before responding to the notice. The authentication facility helps taxpayers reduce the risk of responding to fraudulent communications or making procedural mistakes.

If the notice is genuine, authentication provides the confirmed details you need to respond appropriately. And if the notice is not genuine, you have potentially saved yourself from a scam by merely authenticating the notice.

Just keep your mobile updated on the e-filing portal, know where to find your Document Identification Number, and use the portal inbox, not just the email, as your primary source for any official communication. These few tips will make the entire process smooth and easy.

As an NRI, if you are looking for professional services to help you address your income tax notice, Savetaxs is the name to trust. We help NRIs with notice authentication by verifying the genuineness of the tax notices by validating the Document Identification Number (DIN) on the Income Tax portal to prevent phishing scams. Furthermore, the experts help you with document compilation and discrepancy analysis.

Connect with us as we serve our clients 24/7 across all time zones.