A notice is not always a dispute. Some are system-generated intimations, some ask for information, and some start a formal proceeding. The first job is to find out which kind it is and how much time there is. Most of the damage in notice matters comes from late or loose replies, not from the underlying issue.
1. Read the notice completely
- Who issued it and under which Act: the Income-tax Act, 1961, the Income-tax Act, 2025, or the CGST/State GST Act. The year decides which Act governs. See what changed from 1 April 2026.
- The section and the form number printed on it, and the period or year it concerns.
- The date of issue, the date of service, and the date for reply. The reply date counts from the notice, so a notice sitting unread in an inbox is already using time.
- What exactly is asked. A request for a document is different from a proposed addition or a demand.
- The mode. Many notices are delivered on the portal, with a copy by email. Check the portal’s notices section as well as the inbox.
2. Note what kind of notice it is
- Intimation or mismatch message. An automated comparison, for example between a return and the statements the department holds. Often resolved by a correction or a short explanation.
- Notice seeking information or documents. The reply is a set of papers.
- Scrutiny or show-cause notice. A formal proceeding. The reply is a written submission with documents, and may be followed by a hearing.
- Demand or order. A decision has been taken. The questions here are payment, rectification, and the time to appeal.
3. Collect before drafting
- The notice itself, with every annexure, and proof of the date it was received.
- The return, statement, or filing it refers to, in the form it was filed, with the acknowledgment.
- The books, ledgers, and computation for the period, and the reconciliation behind the figure in question.
- Invoices, bank statements, agreements, and challans that support each item the notice asks about.
- Earlier notices, replies, and orders on the same period.
- Form 26AS, the Annual Information Statement, or the GSTR-2B and GSTR-1 data for the period, as relevant.
4. Shape of a reply
A good reply answers what was asked, and nothing else. It states the facts in order, refers to the document that proves each one, and attaches that document. It is submitted on the portal in the mode the notice requires, and an acknowledgment is kept. If more time is needed, an adjournment request is made before the date, not after it.
5. After the reply
- Diarise the hearing date, if one is fixed, and the date by which an order is likely.
- If an order is passed, note the date it was issued and the period within which an appeal can be filed. Appeal periods are short, and extensions are limited.
- Check whether a rectification is needed, or an amount has to be paid to stop interest.
Do not revise a return or alter the books in response to a notice without first working out what the revision does to other years and other forms.