ITR scrutiny notice: Income Tax Department looks at these parameters while selecting ITRs for scrutiny

Time of India

2 days ago

What should taxpayers note about the latest ITR scrutiny guidelines for FY 2025-26?
Issuance of notice u/s 143(2) of the IT Act (intimation of selection of ITR for scrutiny): June 30, 2025
Time limit for completion of scrutiny by National Faceless Assessment Centre (NaFAC): March 31, 2026
Search or survey actions (past or recent)- Compulsory scrutiny.
Trusts/ Institutions/ receiving donations u/s 80G whose registrations are being cancelled or not approved (up to March 31, 2024) and claiming deduction/ exemption- Compulsory Scrutiny.
Information received through SFT, TDS, Investigation wing, or enforcement agencies, or
Additions in previous years on a recurring issue of law and/or fact amounting to exceeding Rs 50 lakh in metro cities and Rs 20 lakh in other cities. Metro cities for this purpose means Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune.'
What happens after an ITR is selected for scrutiny?
What are the guidelines for selecting an ITR for scrutiny for FY 2025-26?
Systems
Scenario
code
Parameters
CS 01
Cases pertaining to survey u/s 133A of the Income-tax Act,1961 (Act)- Case(s) of the assessee(s), in whose case survey u/s 133A of the Act (other than survey u/s 133A(2A) of the Act) has been conducted on or after 01.04.2023
CS02
Cases pertaining to Search & seizure/ requisition on or after 01.04.2023 but before 01.09.2024:
Case(s) of the assessee, in whose case Search u/s 132 of the Act was initiated or Requisition u/s 132A of the Act was made, on or after 01.04.2023 but before 01.09.2024.
CS03
Search & seizure/ requisition on or after 0 1.09.2024 but before 01.04 .2025
Case(s) for the Assessment Year 2025-26, in whose case Search (For u/s 132 of the Act was initiated or Assessing Officers in Requisition u/s 132A of the Act was made, on or after 01.09.2024 but before 01.04.2025.
CS 05
Cases involving addition in an earlier assessment year(s) on a recurring issue of law or fact and/or law and fact: Where the addition m an earlier assessment year( s) on a recurring issue of law or fact and/or law and fact (including transfer pricing issue) is:
a. exceeding Rs. 50 lakh m eight metro charges at Ahmedabad, Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Pune;
b. exceeding Rs. 20 lakh in charges other than eight metro charges; and where such an addition
(i) has become final, as no further appeal has been preferred against the assessment order; or
(ii) has been upheld by the Appellate Authorities in favour of Revenue; even if further appeal of assessee is pending, against such order.
CS0 6
Cases related to specific information regarding tax-evasion: Cases, in respect of which: (a) specific information pointing out tax-evasion for the relevant assessment year is provided by any law-enforcement agency, (Investigation Wing/ Intelligence/ Regulatory Authority/ Agency, etc.) ; and (b) the return for the relevant assessment year is furnished by the assessee.
What did the tax department say about Section 142 (1) tax notices?
What did the tax department say about sending 143 (2) tax notices by March 31, 2026?
Cases (other than search & seizure/survey) in which notices u/s 148 of the Act have been issued where return is either furnished or not furnished in response to notice u/s 148 of the Act.
Cases in which notices u/s 142(1) of the Act calling for income tax return have been issued & no returns have been furnished.'
What did the income tax department say about non-search cases under Section 148?
The Income Tax Department has recently rolled out comprehensive guidelines aimed at ensuring complete transparency in routine tasks, such as sending out income tax scrutiny notices. These guidelines explain to taxpayers why their income tax return ( ITR ) has been selected for a more detailed examination (scrutiny).Over the past few years, the Central Board of Direct Taxes ( CBDT ) has been issuing similar circulars every year that that outline the criteria for the mandatory/ compulsory selection of ITRs for scrutiny. The latest circular was issued for FY 2025-26. These guidelines clarify how the compulsory selection of ITRs for thorough scrutiny works (including the parameters) and detail the procedures that need to be followed in such specified cases.Check out the info below to learn more about the guidelines for choosing an ITR for scrutiny that came out on June 13, 2025.The guidelines for FY 2025-26 are somewhat similar to the ones issued last year for FY 2024-25 but for this year, there are some new additions.Advocate Bhimanshu Kansal, founder of Kansal Bhimanshu Legal and Practices, says, one of the changes made in the FY 2025-26 guidelines relates to Section 133A that is the survey and search cases.Kansal says: 'One of the parameters for such selection is where a survey under Section 133A of the Income-tax Act (other than survey under Section 133A(2A) has been conducted on or after 01.04.2023. Notably, in prior years, selection of returns towards such parameters was subject to some exclusion/conditions viz. such a survey leads to detection information/materials pointing out tax evasion.'However, there is no such exception carved out in the guidelines for selection of the cases during FY 2025-26.Kansal says: 'This means on a plain reading of guidelines, in the event of the survey happening under Section 133A of the Income-tax Act is sufficient for such selection, irrespective of the fact that this leads to tax evasion or not, which can be a panic situation for fairly surveyed Assessees as well.'Chartered Accountant Ashish Karundia provides a contrarian view about survey related cases: "The absence of a specific reference to information or material indicating tax evasion in survey-related cases may not be significant, as previous scrutiny guidelines issued before FY 2024–25 also did not mandate such a requirement. Additionally, it is to be noted that information obtained during a survey under Section 133A is considered 'information' that may indicate that taxable income has escaped assessment. The tax authorities, therefore, remain empowered to conduct scrutiny under Section 143(2) or initiate reassessment proceedings under Section 148 based on such information."Accoding to Deepashree Shetty, Associate Partner, BDO in India, the FY 2025-26 guideline also mentions the timelines for assessment proceedings u/s 142(1) of the IT Act for ITRs filed for FY 2023-24. These are:Since June 30, 2025, many scrutiny notices have already been issued and this is a routine exercise according to the newly released guidelines.Chartered Accountant Jigar Suba, says: 'While the circular (compulsory scrutiny selection) itself may seem routine, there is a significant risk that many scrutiny cases may go unnoticed by both clients and professionals. There are few key areas of concern as below including but not limited to cases flagged on the basis of:Shetty from BDO in India says: 'Once the ITR is selected for scrutiny, the jurisdictional Assessing Officer (JAO) shall issue a notice calling for additional details or information to enable them to complete the scrutiny. The taxpayer must provide the required information through the online tax compliance portal as per the timelines stipulated by the Assessing Officer.'On June 13, 2025, the CBDT has issued guidelines outlining the processes for the mandatory selection of income tax returns that will undergo thorough scrutiny in the Financial Year (FY) 2025-26. Shetty says, 'The guidelines are issued in their latest circular. These parameters relate to cases pertaining to search and seizure, survey, cases where the tax department has information regarding tax evasion.'Here's a table showing some of the guidelines:Source: CBDT circular dated June 13, 2025Tax notices under Section 142(1) are sent when you have been asked to file your ITR, but haven't done so. The tax department mas made it clear that these specific Section 142(1) cases will be handled using the computer-assisted scrutiny selection (CASS), rather than being processed by tax department officers through the compulsory scrutiny procedure.CBDT in the circular said: 'It is clarified that where return has been furnished in response to notice u/s 142(1) of the Act and such notice u/s 142(1) of the Act was issued due to the information contained in NMS Cycle/ AIS/ Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT)/ CPC-TDS information/ information received from Directorate of I&CI, such return will not be taken up for compulsory scrutiny. Selection of such cases for scrutiny will be done through the CASS cycle.'CBDT said: 'Jurisdictional Assessing Officers (JAOs) shall upload the underlying documents for access by NaFAC in the following cases which are to be completed by NaFAC on or before 31.03.2026 and Notice u!s 143(2)/l42(1) of the Act calling for information shall be served on the assessee through NaFAC in these cases:The CBDT mentioned in this circular that non-search cases selected under Section 148 don't need to be sent to the 'Central Charges' unless they fall under the Board's guidelines.For those uninitiated, the Central Charges is a specialised division within the income tax department that deals with assessments in certain types of cases, especially those related to high-stakes tax evasion, search and seizure cases, and other complicated tax issues.CBDT said: 'During the course of Search & Seizure action, information relating to some other persons, who may have one-off/ very few or limited financial transaction(s) with the main assessee group covered in the search u/s 132/132A of the Act, may be found. Such persons are not integrally connected with the core business of the main assessee searched and do not belong to the same business group. Often such persons are also not residing in the same city as that of the main assessee. In such cases, the relevant information is generally passed on to the jurisdictional AO for assessing them u/s 148 (for searches conducted/requisition made after 01.04.2021) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. It is clarified that all such non-search cases selected u/s 148 of the Act are not required to be transferred to the Central Charges unless covered by the Board's guidelines under F.No. 299/107/2013-IT(Inv.IIl)/1568 dated 25.04.2014.'