143(1) Intimation Becomes 270(1): What Changes From 2027

The intimation you get after CPC (the Centralized Processing Centre) processes your return moves from section 143(1) of the 1961 Act to section 270(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The first 270(1) intimations will be for Tax Year 2026-27 returns, which are filed from 1 April 2027 onwards. The mechanics carry over almost word for word: the same kinds of adjustment, a 30-day window to respond before any adjustment is made, and a nine-month limit for sending the intimation.

Until then, every intimation you receive, including any arriving in 2027 for an AY 2026-27 return, is still a section 143(1) intimation. Section 536 of the 2025 Act keeps the 1961 Act in charge of processing for years that began before 1 April 2026.

Which intimation you will get, and when

The last column comes from the same rule in both Acts. An intimation cannot be sent after nine months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed. A return filed in July 2027 falls in FY 2027-28, which ends on 31 March 2028, so the limit is 31 December 2028. Most intimations arrive much sooner; the limit only tells you when a return can no longer be processed with an intimation.

The 31 July due date is from the table in section 263(1), as amended by the Finance Act, 2026, for individuals without business or professional income. Where you have business or professional income and no audit, the due date in that table is 31 August; audit cases have later dates.

What stays the same

Section 270 follows section 143(1) closely. For an individual, these points carry over unchanged:

• What CPC computes. Your total income after any permitted adjustments, then tax, interest and fee on it, then the sum payable or refund due after taking off TDS, TCS, advance tax, self-assessment tax and any rebate or relief (section 270(1)(b) and (c)).
• Prior notice of adjustments. CPC has to tell you about a proposed adjustment first, in writing or electronically, and consider your response. If you don't respond within 30 days, the adjustment is made and the intimation follows (section 270(2)). This is the notice people know today as the 143(1)(a) proposed adjustment.
• An intimation for loss returns. You get one even when only your loss is adjusted and nothing is payable or refundable (section 270(3)).
• A plain acknowledgement can count as the intimation. Where nothing is payable or refundable and no adjustment was made, the acknowledgement of your return is treated as the intimation (section 270(5)(b)).
• "Incorrect claim apparent from the return" still has its three meanings: an entry inconsistent with another entry in the return, an entry without the information needed to support it, and a deduction above its statutory limit (section 270(5)(a)).
• A demand in an intimation is a demand notice. Section 289, which replaces section 156, treats an intimation with a sum payable as a notice of demand.

What reads differently

The adjustments list. Section 270(1)(a) allows six kinds of adjustment:

1. an arithmetical error in the return
2. an incorrect claim apparent from the information in the return
3. an inconsistency with the return of a preceding tax year, of a kind to be prescribed by rules
4. disallowing a loss set off where the return of the loss year was filed after the due date
5. disallowing expenditure, or adding income, shown in the audit report but left out of the return
6. disallowing a deduction under Chapter VIII-C if the return is filed after the due date

Item 3 depends on what the Income-tax Rules prescribe, so its reach is not clear from the Act alone. The 1961 list also allowed CPC to add income that appeared in Form 26AS, Form 16 or Form 16A but was left out of the return. That item is not in section 270(1)(a). Income reported by others can still lead to a notice through other routes, so keep matching your return to AIS and your TDS certificates before filing.

Processing and scrutiny in one section. Under the 1961 Act, processing was section 143(1) and scrutiny was section 143(2) and (3). In the 2025 Act both sit in section 270: sub-sections (1) to (7) cover processing, and sub-sections (8) to (10) cover scrutiny. A scrutiny notice still cannot be served after three months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed (section 270(9)). So "270" alone does not tell you which one you have. Read the sub-section.

The year label. The 2025 Act has no assessment year, so expect the intimation to name Tax Year 2026-27. The two are one year apart for the same income, so Tax Year 2026-27 matches what the old Act would have called AY 2027-28.

A worked example

Neha files her return for Tax Year 2026-27 on 20 July 2027 under the old regime and claims ₹40,000 under section 126 (the old 80D) for a health policy covering herself and her family. Nobody in the policy is a senior citizen, so the limit is ₹25,000.

1. CPC treats the extra ₹15,000 as an incorrect claim, because the deduction is above its statutory limit.
2. Before adjusting, it sends her a communication under section 270(2) proposing to disallow ₹15,000.
3. Neha has 30 days to respond. If she agrees, or does not respond, the ₹15,000 is added back.
4. The section 270(1) intimation then shows the tax on ₹15,000 more income. At a 20% slab rate that is ₹3,000 before cess, plus any interest that follows from it.
5. If she later finds CPC applied the wrong figure, she can ask for rectification under section 287 (the old 154) within four years from the end of the financial year in which the intimation was passed.

Under the 1961 Act the same steps would have been section 143(1)(a), section 143(1) and section 154. The process does not change.

What to do now

• For AY 2026-27, nothing changes. Read your intimation as a 143(1) intimation, file any rectification under section 154, and expect refund interest under section 244A. Our guide on how to read a 143(1) intimation and the one on answering a proposed adjustment both still apply.
• For Tax Year 2026-27, keep the year straight on advance tax challans and claim deductions within their limits. The old to new deduction numbers list the new limits.
• In 2027 and after, when a 270(1) intimation arrives, read it the same way: the computation as you filed it, the computation CPC accepted, and the difference. For corrections and refund interest under the new numbers, see rectification under section 154 vs 287 and refund interest under section 437.

myutils.me shows each PAN's ITR status, refund and any outstanding demand after you add the PAN or press Sync, and fetches the intimation PDF from the portal when you download it. It is an independent app; responses to CPC are filed on the portal.

FAQ

When will I get my first section 270(1) intimation?

After you file your return for Tax Year 2026-27 (income from April 2026 to March 2027). Those returns are filed from April 2027, so the first 270(1) intimations follow in 2027.

Is a 143(1) intimation issued in 2027 wrong?

Not for AY 2026-27 or earlier. Section 536 of the 2025 Act keeps those returns under the 1961 Act, so their intimations still cite section 143(1), whenever they are issued.

Do I still get 30 days to answer a proposed adjustment?

Yes. Section 270(2) requires CPC to tell you about the adjustment first and wait 30 days for your response before making it.

How long does CPC have to send a 270(1) intimation?

Nine months from the end of the financial year in which you filed the return, the same as under section 143(1). For a return filed in July 2027, that is 31 December 2028.

Is section 270 also the scrutiny section?

Yes. Section 270(8) to (10) replace section 143(2) and (3). Check the sub-section on any notice: 270(1) is processing by CPC, 270(8) is a scrutiny notice.

Sources

• Section 270, Income-tax Act, 2025
• Income-tax Act, 2025, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026 (Income Tax Department)
• Section 287, Income-tax Act, 2025
• Section 536, Income-tax Act, 2025: repeal and savings