Revision of IT Return and IT Rectification Request

Filing income tax return is an exercise which every taxpayer has to undertake every year. The taxpayer may have to take multiple sources of income into account and diligently disclose them so that there are no errors or omissions while calculating the tax liability. However, there may be instances where a taxpayer may inadvertently fail to include certain incomes such as interest or dividend income or forget to claim certain tax exemptions.

In this case, the taxpayer may file a revised return under Section 139(5) of the Income Tax Act. From Assessment Year 2017-18, the revised return can be filed even for returns filed belatedly. The revised return has to be filed before the end of the next assessment year. So, for example, for the current FY2017-18, the revised return can be filed on or before March 31, 2019.

The submission of tax rectification request is different from filing revised return. The rectification request has to be submitted after the Assessment Officer (AO) sends an intimation under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act. After receiving the income tax return filed by the taxpayer, the AO authenticates the data submitted by the taxpayer and sends an intimation. The taxpayer has to match the data submitted by him/her in the IT return and the data computed by the AO and if there is any difference or mistake in the two set of data, it has to be rectified by submitting a rectification request to the AO.

The taxpayer can rectify mistakes such as clerical and arithmetical mistakes, mismatch in payment of tax, inclusion of income under incorrect heading, change in residential status, etc. The rectification request can be filed within four years from the date of receipt of the intimation from the AO.