How to Read Your 143(1) Intimation Line by Line

Your 143(1) intimation is a two-column comparison. The left column repeats what you declared in your return. The right column shows what CPC (the Centralized Processing Centre in Bengaluru) computed after processing it. Every refund, demand or "nil" result comes from the gap between those two columns, and you can find the exact line where it starts by reading top to bottom.

This guide walks through the PDF in that order, with a worked AY 2026-27 example where a refund of ₹6,200 claimed in the return turned into a demand of ₹3,470. If you want to know how a 143(1) intimation differs from a scrutiny or reassessment notice, read 143(1) vs 143(2) vs 148 first.

Opening the PDF

The intimation arrives by email from CPC and is also on the portal under e-File > Income Tax Returns > View Filed Returns, against the return for that year. The PDF is password protected: the password is your PAN in lower case followed by your date of birth as DDMMYYYY, for example abcde1234f01011990.

Which law applies: returns for AY 2026-27 and earlier are processed under section 143(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, even when the intimation is issued after 1 April 2026. The Income-tax Act, 2025 moves this processing to section 270(1), which applies to returns for Tax Year 2026-27 onwards, filed in 2027.

The header: check it belongs to the right return

Before reading any figure, check the top block:

• Name and PAN. If you file for family members, make sure you opened the right person's intimation.
• Assessment year. AY 2026-27 is income earned from April 2025 to March 2026.
• Acknowledgement number and date of filing. If you filed a revised return, these tell you which version was processed. A revised return gets its own intimation, which replaces the earlier one.
• Section under which the return was filed, such as 139(1) for an original return within the due date, 139(4) for a belated one or 139(5) for a revised one.
• Status and residential status, such as Individual and Resident.

The two columns

The body of the intimation is a table. One column is headed along the lines of As provided by taxpayer in Return of Income and the other As computed under section 143(1). The exact row labels vary with the ITR form, but they follow the order of the tax computation in your return:

1. Income under each head: salaries, house property, business or profession, capital gains, other sources.
2. Gross total income, then deductions under Chapter VI-A (80C, 80D and so on, under the old regime), then total income.
3. Tax on total income, rebate under section 87A where it applies, surcharge, and health and education cess.
4. Relief under sections 89, 90 or 91 where claimed.
5. Interest and fee: section 234A (late filing), 234B (short advance tax), 234C (deferred advance tax) and the late filing fee under section 234F.
6. Taxes paid: advance tax, TDS, TCS and self-assessment tax, then the total.
7. Net result: the amount refundable or payable, with refund interest under section 244A where a refund is due.

Read each row across. Where both columns match, move on. The first row where they differ is where your problem starts, and every row below it usually changes as a consequence.

A worked example: refund claimed, demand raised

A salaried taxpayer under the new regime filed for AY 2026-27. Salary after the ₹75,000 standard deduction was ₹13,75,000. Her bank deducted ₹6,200 TDS on fixed deposit interest of ₹62,000. She claimed that TDS in the return but did not enter the interest as income.

How to read it:

• The first difference is income from other sources. CPC added ₹62,000 because the interest appeared in Form 26AS with TDS against it but was missing from the return. Adding income that appears in Form 26AS, Form 16 or Form 16A but not in the return is one of the adjustments section 143(1)(a) allows.
• Everything below follows. The extra ₹62,000 sits in the 15% slab (₹12 lakh to ₹16 lakh), adding ₹9,300 of tax and ₹372 of cess. CPC rounds the final tax to the nearest ₹10, which is why ₹99,372 shows as ₹99,370.
• Taxes paid did not change. Both columns credit the full ₹95,900 of TDS, so the demand is purely the tax on the omitted interest. There is no interest under 234B or 234C here because the tax still payable after TDS is below ₹10,000, so advance tax was not required.

If the taxes-paid rows differ instead, the story is different: a challan or TDS entry was not credited. That case is covered in paid the tax but got a demand.

The adjustment annexure

When CPC changes your figures under section 143(1)(a), the intimation lists the adjustment and the clause it falls under. Under the 1961 Act, the clauses cover:

• (i) an arithmetical error in the return
• (ii) an incorrect claim apparent from information in the return
• (iii) a loss set off where the return of the loss year was filed late
• (iv) expenditure shown in a tax audit report but not added back in the return
• (v) certain deductions claimed in a return filed after the due date
• (vi) income in Form 26AS, Form 16A or Form 16 that the return left out

CPC cannot make these adjustments without warning. It must first send you a proposed adjustment and consider your reply, or wait 30 days if you do not reply. If you never saw that proposal, check Pending Actions > e-Proceedings. Our guide to the 30-day proposed adjustment notice explains how that step works.

What the net result means

Nil (no demand, no refund). Your figures and CPC's match. Save the PDF with your return.

Refund. The amount goes to your pre-validated bank account, with interest under section 244A where it applies. If the refund is smaller than you claimed, read back up to find the row where it shrank. How refund interest is worked out covers the interest line.

Demand. The intimation is treated as a notice of demand under section 156. The amount is due within 30 days. If it is not paid in that time, simple interest of 1% a month or part of a month runs under section 220(2). The demand also appears under Pending Actions > Response to Outstanding Demand, where you either agree and pay, or disagree in full or part.

What to do with a gap you disagree with

Rectification or revised return goes through the choice in detail, and responding to an outstanding demand covers the response screen.

If you keep returns for several family members, myutils.me lists each PAN's ITR status and outstanding demands after you add the PAN or press Sync, and downloads the intimation PDF from the portal when you ask for it. It is an independent app; any response or rectification is filed on the portal.

FAQ

Is a 143(1) intimation a notice I must reply to?

Only if it shows a demand. A nil or refund intimation needs no reply. A demand needs either payment or a response under Response to Outstanding Demand, and a rectification or appeal if you think it is wrong.

Why does my intimation show interest under section 234B or 234C when I paid all my tax?

Those sections charge interest for paying tax late during the year, not for leaving it unpaid. Tax paid in July as self-assessment tax still attracts 234B and 234C interest if advance tax was due earlier. Check the dates and amounts of your advance tax instalments against the interest rows.

Can I get the intimation again if I lost the email?

Yes. Download it from View Filed Returns on the portal. You can also ask for it to be resent through Services > Intimation u/s 143(1)/154/16(1)/35(6), if that option is shown for your account.

How long does CPC have to send the intimation?

Nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed. A return for AY 2026-27 filed in 2026 must be processed by 31 December 2027.

Sources

• Income Tax Department: Raise rectification request FAQs
• Income Tax Department: Respond to outstanding demand FAQs
• Income Tax Department: e-Proceedings user manual (prima facie adjustment under 143(1)(a))
• Income Tax Department: Section 270 of the Income-tax Act, 2025