Notice Response

Turn Tax Notices Into Draft Replies in Minutes

Upload a notice — Sec. 143(1) intimation, Sec. 148 reassessment, Sec. 142(1) inquiry, or Sec. 270A penalty — and get a structured draft response with the relevant sections (under IT Act 1961 and IT Act 2025), CBDT circulars, and tribunal precedents identified automatically.

Draft Your Notice Response
Reassessment & penalty sectionsSections 147-153, 270A-275Every sub-clause mapped to its IT Act 2025 equivalent (Sections 279-286 for reassessment, 439-472 for penalties)
SC / HC / ITAT rulingsOn demandPulls the latest rulings on Sec. 148, Sec. 148A, Sec. 270A, GKN Driveshafts, Ashish Agarwal when your query hits case law
Typical turnaround< 15 minDraft response with checklist, citations, deadlines and risk flags
The problem

CAs juggle tight statutory deadlines across dozens of clients, each with unique notice types. A Sec. 280 (ex-Sec. 148) reassessment notice under the Income-tax Act 2025 requires understanding the 'information suggesting escapement' threshold, the Sec. 282 time limits (4y 3m / 6y 3m, down from the pre-2026 10-year window), the specified-authority approval under Sec. 284, and whether the AO actually followed the Sec. 281 (ex-Sec. 148A) show-cause procedure. For notices issued before 01-04-2026, the transitional Sec. 149 regime (3y 3m / 5y 3m under Finance (No.2) Act 2024) still applies. Researching the right arguments, circulars and case law for each issue takes hours of manual work — and missing a single deadline or legal argument can cost the client lakhs.

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A real question, a cited answer

app.taxmarg.ai · sample answergrounded
My client received a Sec. 280 notice dated 15 April 2026 for AY 2023-24, citing ₹72 lakh of unexplained investment. Is the notice time-barred under the Income-tax Act 2025, and what procedural defences should I raise?
Based on TaxMarg's knowledge and sources4.2s · 4 sources
The notice is within time but worth scrutinising. Under Sec. 282 of the IT Act 2025 (ex-Sec. 149, effective 01-04-2026), a reassessment notice under Sec. 280 (ex-Sec. 148) may be issued: (a) up to 4 years 3 months from end of the relevant tax year for any amount, or (b) up to 6 years 3 months where escaped income is ₹50 lakh or more and the AO has supporting books, documents, or evidence of an asset, expenditure or entry. [Sec. 282 (ex-Sec. 149 IT Act 1961)] For AY 2023-24, the relevant tax year ends on 31-03-2024, so the outer limits are 30-06-2028 (default) and 30-06-2030 (extended). A notice dated 15-04-2026 is well within the default window — so timing is fine — but the AO must also prove: (i) compliance with the mandatory Sec. 281 show-cause procedure (ex-148A) with a 7–30 day reply period and a speaking order under Sec. 281(3); (ii) prior approval under Sec. 284 (ex-Sec. 151) by the specified authority — the Additional / Joint Commissioner or Director; (iii) tangible 'information' under Sec. 281(1) — a vague reference to AIS is insufficient. [Sec. 284 (ex-Sec. 151 IT Act 1961)] Key procedural defences: (a) lack of DIN on the notice per CBDT Circular 19/2019 (notice is void-ab-initio if DIN is missing); (b) change of opinion if the original Sec. 270 (ex-Sec. 143(3)) assessment already considered this investment (SC in GKN Driveshafts v. ITO and CIT v. Kelvinator); (c) Ashish Agarwal compliance — any Sec. 280 notice issued without the Sec. 281 show-cause is procedurally defective. [Union of India v. Ashish Agarwal (2022)] Substantive defence: Demand the AO share the specific data triggering the notice, not a generic 'information available' formulation.

Every claim above traces to a primary source in our knowledge base

How TaxMarg helps

Automatic Notice Parsing

Upload the notice PDF or scanned image. TaxMarg extracts the notice type (143(1) / 148 / 142(1) / 270A), the assessment year, the sections cited, the demand amount and the response deadline. Scanned notices are handled via OCR — no manual data entry needed.

Issue-Wise Legal Research

Each issue raised in the notice triggers targeted RAG queries. For a Sec. 280 (ex-148) reassessment, TaxMarg pulls the 'information' threshold, the Sec. 281 (ex-148A) procedure, the IT Act 2025 Sec. 282 limits (4y 3m / 6y 3m), Sec. 284 (ex-151) approval hierarchy, and the latest ITAT/HC precedents — all with pinpoint citations to both IT Act 1961 and IT Act 2025.

Structured Draft & Checklist

Get a ready-to-edit draft response organised by issue, with legal arguments, supporting provisions, and a compliance checklist: documents to attach, deadlines to track, and risk flags for arguments that may not hold up on appeal.

What you get back

Structured, exportable output

Sample notice-response checklistSec. 281 show-cause · AY 2023-24
  • TimingVerify notice is within Sec. 282 limit (6y 3m for ≥₹50L evidence-backed cases) — outer limit 30-06-2030 for AY 2023-24
  • ApprovalConfirm Sec. 284 approval by the specified authority — Additional / Joint Commissioner or Director
  • DINCheck DIN presence on the notice (per CBDT Circular 19/2019 — notice is void without it)
  • InformationDemand specific 'information' basis under Sec. 281(1) — AIS / departmental risk algorithm / survey report
  • Change of opinionReview original Sec. 270 (ex-143(3)) assessment — if the investment was already examined, raise GKN Driveshafts / Kelvinator defence
  • ReplyDraft show-cause reply within 7-30 days; attach bank statements, investment proofs, return schedule
  • Post-orderIf Sec. 281(3) order is adverse, preserve the right to writ petition before a Sec. 280 notice is issued

Try these questions

→What is the mandatory procedure under Sec. 281 of the IT Act 2025 (ex-Sec. 148A) before a Sec. 280 notice, and what are the grounds to challenge non-compliance?
→Can penalty under Sec. 439 of the IT Act 2025 (ex-Sec. 270A) be levied when the return understatement is attributable to a bona fide legal interpretation? What does the under-reporting-vs-misreporting distinction require?
→What is the current time limit under Sec. 282 of the IT Act 2025 for escaped income of ₹50 lakh or more (6y 3m from end of tax year), and how does specified-authority approval under Sec. 284 work?
→How should a CA respond to a Sec. 270 (ex-143(1)) intimation that disallows an exemption correctly claimed under Sec. 10(10D) for a ULIP maturity payment?
→What are the grounds to challenge a best-judgment assessment under Sec. 271 of the IT Act 2025 (ex-Sec. 144) when the assessee was unable to comply due to medical reasons?
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