This article tells the next steps to take if you have received an SMS about your past income tax returns which you can amend using the ITR-U facility.
Disclaimer: You should take professional help from a practicing CA in case you are facing a taxation situation where doing-it-yourself might make things worse.
This article is a part of our detailed article series on various communications that the income tax department sends you. Ensure you have read the other parts here:
This article tells the next steps to take if you have received an SMS about your 80GGC tax deduction claim made in the past.
This article shows you what do do if you receive this cryptic SMS from the income tax department.
This article discusses this SMS from the income-tax department that looks like this:
Dear «Tax Payer Name», An opportunity to file your updated ITR under section 139(8A) for A.Y.2022-23 upto 31-Mar-25. File your ITR-U on e-Filing portal today. -ITDept
This is an informational SMS about the facility of ITR-U, or Updated Income Tax Return, which was introduced in Budget 2022 and is now available to update your past income tax returns. It does not mean that your income tax return has issues but you can make any changes just in case you wish to do so.
ITR-U allows you to fix mistakes or add missing information in your past Income tax returns under Section 139(8A).
If you have any changes to be made in the income tax returns filed in the past, you can fill out the ITR-U form as per these deadlines:
| AY | FY | Last Date for ITR-U |
|---|---|---|
| 2022-23 | 2021-22 | 31-Mar-25 |
| 2023-24 | 2022-23 | 31-Mar-26 |
| 2023-25 | 2023-24 | 31-Mar-27 |
Here is an official guide on filing ITR-U from the Income Tax YouTube channel:
It is a good practice to check if there are any Pending Actions in the income-tax portal:
If there is no Pending Action, check back in a few days.
If there is a Pending Action, please follow the instructions (video above) and FAQs below. This will start the processing steps for the Pending Action.
If you have genuinely forgotten something or have something that you wish to change, for example regarding Section 80GGC exemption, then you can file the return using ITR-U. Otherwise, there is nothing to do.
The official Income Tax website has these Frequently Asked Questions on responding to these Defective Notices as reproduced here:
Question 1: I filed an Updated ITR u/s 139(8A). I received a defective communication against the same. How to respond against such defective notice ?
Response: Tax payer can submit response against the defective notice triggered against updated return in the same manner as 139(9) by navigating through below path : https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/ → Login → Pending actions → e-proceedings → submit response by selecting respective notice.
Question 2: While preparing XML/JSON for submitting response to defective notice triggered against updated return filed u/s 139(8A), which section dropdown should I select in ITR ?
Response: Tax payer is required to select section as 139(8A) while responding to defective notice triggered against 139(8A) section in ITR.
Question 3: Is it mandatory to fill 'DIN' and 'Date of Notice' while submitting responding to defective notice triggered against 'updated return filed u/s 139(8A)'?
Response: It is not recommended to enter DIN and Date of Notice.
Question 4: Can I submit response to defective notice triggered for any other ITR apart from the filed u/s 139(8A) by selecting 139(8A) and vice versa ?
Response: No. While submitting response to defective notice triggered against 'any other ITR apart from 139(8A)', tax payer should select section as 139(9) and while submitting response to defective notice triggered against 139(8A) return, tax payer should select section as 139(8A).
Question 5: Can I submit multiple responses to defective notice triggered against Updated return filed u/s 139(8A)?
Response: No, tax payer should submit only one response against one defective notice.
Question 6: I didn’t file any prior ITR apart from 139(8A) for AY 20XX. While preparing XML/JSON for submitting response to defective notice triggered against updated return filed u/s 139(8A), which option should I select in A5 of Part A General 139(8A) ?
Response: Tax payer should select same option in'A5 of Part A General 139(8A)' as what he selected while filing 139(8A) ITR which means, if tax payer didn’t file prior ITR u/s 139(1)/139(4), then answer for A5 will be 'No' in both return i.s.,139(8A) return and in response to defective notice triggered against 139(8A) return and so no need to fill 'Original Date of filing' and 'Acknowledgement number' of Original ITR in both the returns.
Question 7: I filed prior ITR apart from 139(8A) for AY 20XX. While preparing XML/JSON for submitting response to defective notice triggered against updated return filed u/s 139(8A), which option should I select in A5 of Part A General 139(8A) and which details need to be provided in 'Original Date of filing and Acknowledgement number' fields ?
Response: Tax payer should select same option in'A5 of Part A General 139(8A)' as what he selected while filing 139(8A) ITR which means, if tax payer filed any prior ITR u/s 139(1) / 139(4) apart from 139(8A), then answer for A5 will be 'Yes' in both return i.e.,139(8A) return and in response to defective notice triggered against 139(8A) return and so he needs to fill same 'Original Date of filing' and 'Acknowledgement number' of such previously filed Original ITR in both the returns.
Question 8: I filed updated return u/s 139(8A) and post that I submitted response to defective notice triggered for other than 139(8A) which is pending from long time. Which one will be considered as latest?
Response: Updated Returns may prevail over other applicable sections . So, updated return will be treated as latest return
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This post titled What should you do if you have received the income tax SMS telling you about the opportunity to file your updated ITR under section 139(8A)? first appeared on 29 Jan 2025 at https://arthgyaan.com
