The income tax department has sent out notices to around 22,000 taxpayers, including salaried individuals, high-net-worth individuals, trusts, and Hindu undivided families, because their deductions dont match the information on their Annual Information Statement (AIS).As per the report in the Economic Times, all of these notification letters were sent during the last 15 days for tax returns submitted for the assessment year 2023–24. In situations where the discrepancy between the tax deductions they recorded in their returns and the data kept by the department exceeded 50,000.The income tax department also sent notices to 900 high-net-worth individuals where disparity was Rs 5 crore and above and 12000 trusts and partnership firms where disparity was over Rs 10 crore and above.Irregularities in returnsThe departments primary data analytics have, in general, found irregularities and anomalies in the returns submitted by about 2 lakh taxpayers whose income declarations, expenses, or bank account information do not match the data the department has gathered based on the transaction linked to their bank or UPI account. This data analysis is an integral component of the departments initiatives to uphold tax compliance and precision in financial reporting.An income tax department official said, “This is the first intimation notice. Only if taxpayers do not respond to it or fail to provide any clarification, a demand notice would be processed”. Furthermore, he added that in some cases, taxpayers are yet to include capital gains and dividend income, and some have entirely excluded information about their other bank accounts.Available choices People who have received notifications about discrepancies in their tax returns have a number of options for taking care of the issue, including paying the due tax and any relevant interest by submitting a new and rectified tax return.
