Income Tax Notice u/s 139(9) : Responding to defective return notice

What is a defective return?

Filed ITR is defective if any:

• Discrepancy or
• Mistake or
• Information is missing

A notice u/s 139(9) is sent by the IT Department if the return is found defective.

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Defective Return Notice u/s 139(9)

How will I receive notice u/s 139(9)?

Communication on Email

• The system auto-generates the notice u/s 139(9) and communicates to the assessee on the email entered while filing the income tax return.
• The sender of these email is usually CPC i.e. Central Processing Centre.
• The subject of the email is “Communication u/s 139(9) for PAN AWZXXXXXXK for the A.Y.2019-20”. The PAN and AY (Assessment Year) would be different in each case.
• The notice is attached to the email. It is password protected . The password to open is PAN in lower case and the date of birth in DDMMYYYY format. Eg: aagpr1212a02101980 for PAN: AAGPR1212A and DOB: 02/10/1980.

What are the reasons for defective return notice u/s 139(9)?

Common reasons for defective return notice are as follows:

Mismatch in TDS and Income Details

Defective Return notice u/s 139(9) is issued when there is a discrepancy between Income details filed in ITR & TDS deducted as per Form 26AS. Following are the common reasons for mismatch notice if TDS is deducted under section:

• 192 but Income is not taxed as salary income,
• 194J but income is not taxed as business and professional income,
• 194H but Income is not taxed as business and professional income,
• 194A but Income is not taxed under Income From Other Source,
• As per Form 26AS but income is not shown in filed ITR.

To know the exact defect look at the TDS Section mentioned in your Form 26AS and Income Details in ITR.

Example

Ajay earned income from freelancing during FY 2018-19. Freelancing income is considered as Professional Income and TDS is deducted u/s 194J of TDS. However, he reported the income under the head Salary. Here he would receive defective return notice with a mismatch in TDS and Income Details. Form 26AS with TDS Section 194J

ITR filed with Salary Income

Return is Filed with Tax Dues

Defective return notice u/s 139(9) is issued when there is a discrepancy between total taxes paid as per Form 26AS and total taxes payable in filed ITR. Following are the common reasons for tax dues:

• Income added in return but filed without payment of tax dues,
• Income is added in return but filed without TDS details,
• The Income added in return but filed without self-assessment tax payment challan details,
• Income and TDS are added in return but filed without payment of penalty interest.

You can know the defect from ITR and Form 26AS. Let’s take an example: Vijay is a salaried individual with freelancing income. His employer deducted his TDS on salary, However, no TDS was deducted on his freelancing income. While filing ITR-4 for FY 2018-19, he offered all his incomes but forgot to make payment of self-assessment tax before filing ITR. In this case, he would receive defective return notice for return filed with tax dues.

Return filed without P&L and Balance Sheet

Individuals should maintain P&L and Balance Sheet under the following two conditions:

• Business & Profession income is earned and,
• An individual is not eligible to opt for presumptive taxation scheme u/s 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE.

IT Department issues notice u/s 139(9) if return filed with P&L and Balance Sheet details and assessee files return is without it. Following are the common reasons for defect:

• Business & Professional Income is added without details in P&L and Balance Sheet,
• Income of Business & Profession is added in P&L but Balance Sheet is not filed,
• Business & Professional Income is added in P&L but the Balance Sheet is partially filled.

You can check the Schedule P&L and Schedule Balance Sheet in filed ITR to know the defect.

Example

Aman is a general commission agent. And he earns commission income from different companies during FY 2018-19. In this case, his income falls under the head Business & Profession. And he is not eligible to opt for presumptive taxation scheme u/s 44AD. He did maintain P&L and Balance Sheet. But while filing his ITR for FY 2018-19, he forgot to fill details in Balance Sheet. In this case, he would receive defective return notice for return filed without P&L and Balance Sheet.

Filed Return without Tax Audit Report

Individuals are required to get their books of accounts audited in the following cases:

• Total sales, turnover or gross receipts, in business, exceeds INR 1 Crore in any previous year,
• Gross receipts in profession exceed INR 50 Lakh in any previous year,
• The income from business/ profession is lower than the presumptive income calculated as per section 44AD/44ADA and the total income is more than INR 2,50,000.

Any Practising Chartered Accountant can carry out tax audit on books of accounts of a taxpayer. The prepared tax audit report is required to be submitted on the income tax e-filing portal. It also needs to be approved by a taxpayer before filing ITR. In following cases you can receive defective return notice when returns are filed without an audit report:

• Carried out by CA,
• Submitted by CA or,
• Accepted by a taxpayer.

For example, Bharat is a salaried individual who also does F&O Trading. His turnover from trading is INR 2.5 Crore. Here, he is required to get his books of accounts audited. But while filing ITR-3 for FY 2018-19, he did not get his books of accounts audited. In this case, he would receive defective return notice for the return filed without a tax audit report.

How to respond to defective return notice u/s 139(9)?

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