Responding to an Income Tax Notice via e-Proceedings: Seeking Adjournment and a Video Conference Hearing

A scrutiny notice rarely arrives at a convenient moment, and the income tax portal gives you a fixed window — usually 15 days from the date of issue — to respond. Since the faceless regime took effect on 1 April 2021, almost every assessment notice is now served and answered electronically under Pending Actions > e-Proceedings, with no physical visit to an Assessing Officer's room. This guide walks through how a salaried taxpayer answers a notice on time, seeks an adjournment when documents are not ready, and requests a video conference hearing where the law permits one.

The Scenario

Priya, a salaried professional, filed her income tax return for Assessment Year 2025-26 on 28 July 2025, declaring a salary of Rs 18,00,000. On 12 June 2026 she finds a notice under Section 143(2) in her e-Filing account: her case has been picked for limited scrutiny because her Annual Information Statement (AIS) shows Rs 4,00,000 of income that did not appear in her return. The notice asks her to respond within 15 days and upload supporting evidence.

Priya has three practical problems. First, her chartered accountant is travelling until 30 June 2026, so she cannot file a complete reply inside the 15-day window. Second, the bank statements proving that Rs 4,00,000 was an exempt maturity receipt, not taxable income, will take time to collate. Third, she wants to explain her position to a human officer rather than risk a paper-only addition. Each of these maps to a specific feature inside e-Proceedings — partial response, Seek Adjournment, and Seek Video Conferencing.

Statutory Answer

The legal backbone here is Section 144B of the Income-tax Act 1961, inserted by the Taxation and Other Laws Act 2020 and effective from 1 April 2021, which mandates that scrutiny assessments be conducted in a faceless manner through the National Faceless Assessment Centre (NaFAC). Section 144B(6) requires that the taxpayer be given an opportunity, through a show-cause notice, before any addition is made, and clause (viii) of that sub-section expressly provides for a personal hearing through video conferencing when the taxpayer requests one against a variation proposed to the income.

The notice itself is issued under Section 143(2), which empowers the Assessing Officer to require the taxpayer to attend or produce evidence in support of the return. As amended by the Finance Act 2021, no Section 143(2) notice can be served after the expiry of three months from the end of the financial year in which the return is furnished. Priya filed in July 2025, so the financial year of filing ended 31 March 2026 and the department's outer limit to serve the notice was 30 June 2026 — her 12 June 2026 notice is therefore valid. Where the officer needs additional records, a parallel notice under Section 142(1) may call for accounts, documents or specified information.

Ignoring the notice is the costliest option. Failure to comply with a notice under Section 142(1) or 143(2) attracts a penalty of Rs 10,000 for each default under Section 272A(1)(d), and persistent non-compliance allows the officer to complete a best-judgement assessment under Section 144, where the income is estimated without the taxpayer's input. The verified portal mechanics, published on the Income Tax Department's help pages, give Priya a far better route.

According to the Income Tax Department's e-Proceedings help documentation, a response is filed under Pending Actions > e-Proceedings: the taxpayer enters written remarks of up to 4,000 characters and uploads supporting documents by category. Both partial and full responses are supported within a single session, so Priya can submit what she has now and complete the rest later. Every submission generates a unique Transaction ID and an email confirmation, and the filed response can be viewed afterwards from the same screen.

Worked Resolution

Priya's first move is to quantify what is at stake, because that decides how much effort the reply justifies. Under the FY 2025-26 new regime slabs, her declared position and the worst-case revised position compare as follows.

The exposure is the Rs 89,700 difference, plus interest under Sections 234B and 234C, so a careful reply is well worth the trouble. You can reproduce these figures for your own salary using the income tax calculator and confirm your regime choice with the old vs new regime calculator.

Next, Priya files a partial response before the 15-day clock expires. She logs in, opens the Section 143(2) notice under Pending Actions > e-Proceedings, and types a concise note in the 4,000-character remarks box stating that the Rs 4,00,000 in the AIS represents a tax-free insurance maturity already reflected in her bank account, with full reconciliation to follow. She uploads her salary slips and Form 16 in the correct document category and submits. The portal returns a Transaction ID and an email confirmation, which she saves as proof that she engaged inside the window.

Because the bank statements are not ready, Priya then uses Seek Adjournment on the same notice. She selects an extended date of 5 July 2026, chooses a reason (additional time to collate supporting documents), and attaches a short covering letter. The request is recorded and can be tracked under View Adjournment; the officer may grant the full extension, a shorter one, or decline, so she does not assume approval and keeps preparing her file.

If the proposed addition survives her written reply and the Assessing Officer issues a show-cause variation, Priya can finally use Seek Video Conferencing. This option appears only when the case is flagged for it by the officer under the Section 144B(6)(viii) personal-hearing route; she enters a reason for the request, and the hearing is conducted by video link at the scheduled slot. To prepare, she checks whether any of the disputed amount is in fact taxable — for instance, whether part of it is interest that should have been disclosed and on which TDS was deducted, which she can verify against the TDS calculator.

The full compliance timeline she follows looks like this.

By engaging early, documenting every Transaction ID, and asking for a hearing only where the law allows it, Priya converts a Rs 89,700 exposure into a defensible, fully evidenced position. If the assessment still results in a demand she disputes, the order can be challenged in appeal, and any consequential tax refund is processed only after the assessment is finalised.

FAQ

How long do I get to respond to an e-Proceedings notice?

The response window is stated on the notice itself and is commonly 15 days from the date of issue for a Section 143(2) scrutiny notice. The exact deadline always appears on the notice in your e-Filing account; treat that date, not a general rule of thumb, as binding.

Can I file my reply in parts?

Yes. The Income Tax Department's e-Proceedings facility supports both partial and full responses within a single session, so you can upload available documents and remarks (up to 4,000 characters) now and submit the rest before the deadline or any extended date.

What happens if I miss the deadline without seeking an adjournment?

Each failure to comply with a Section 142(1) or 143(2) notice can attract a penalty of Rs 10,000 under Section 272A(1)(d), and the Assessing Officer may proceed to a best-judgement assessment under Section 144, estimating your income without your inputs.

Is a video conference hearing available on demand?

No. Under Section 144B(6)(viii), a personal hearing through video conferencing is provided when you request one against a proposed variation, and the Seek Video Conferencing option appears on the portal only once the case is flagged for it by the Assessing Officer.

How do I prove I responded on time?

Every submission in e-Proceedings generates a unique Transaction ID and an email confirmation. Save both, because they are your evidence that a reply was filed within the window even if the officer later issues a further notice.

Does seeking an adjournment guarantee more time?

No. Seek Adjournment lets you propose an extended date with a reason and optional attachments, but the Assessing Officer decides whether to grant it. Keep preparing your documents in case the request is refused or only partly allowed.

Will scrutiny delay my refund?

A refund for the year under scrutiny is released only after the assessment is completed and any demand is adjusted. Confirm your filing details and self-assessment dues via the self-assessment tax glossary entry before the assessment concludes.