e-Proceedings: Responding to Faceless Assessment Notices from the Assessing Officer or CPC

You open the income-tax portal in August 2026 and a red badge is waiting under Pending Actions: a notice has been issued in your name. The heading reads "Prima Facie Adjustment u/s 143(1)(a)", the response window is 30 days, and the letter is signed not by a named officer but by the National Faceless Assessment Centre. There is no ward, no building, no counter to visit. This is the reality of assessment since Section 144B was inserted into the Income-tax Act, 1961 with effect from 1 April 2021: your file is handled electronically, and your only door back to the department is the e-Proceedings tab. This Q&A walks through what that notice means and exactly how to answer it without missing a deadline.

The Scenario

Consider Rhea, a salaried professional in Pune with a gross salary of Rs 14,00,000 for FY 2025-26. She filed her income-tax return on 15 July 2026, claiming a deduction that the department's system could not reconcile against the Annual Information Statement. On 10 August 2026 the Centralised Processing Centre (CPC) at Bengaluru issued a communication under Section 143(1)(a) proposing to disallow the mismatched amount and recompute her tax. The notice landed in her registered email and in the e-Proceedings module at the same time, carrying a Document Identification Number (DIN) and a fixed response window of 30 days.

Rhea's question is the one thousands of taxpayers face every filing season: what is this notice, is it a demand or a proposal, and what happens on day 31 if she does nothing? The department's own help page on responding to e-Proceedings, published at incometax.gov.in, confirms that the facility covers four broad categories - Defective return under Section 139(9), Prima Facie Adjustment under Section 143(1)(a), Suo-moto Rectification under Section 154, and notices issued directly by an Assessing Officer. Each has its own clock, and the clock is the single most important number on the page.

Statutory Answer

The governing provision for faceless work is Section 144B of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which mandates that assessment, reassessment and re-computation under Sections 143(3), 144 and 147 be conducted in a faceless manner through the National Faceless Assessment Centre. The statutory text is available on indiacode.nic.in and the operational scheme was notified by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). Because the officer is anonymous, every exchange must happen in writing through e-Proceedings; there is no oral hearing unless one is specifically granted through video conferencing under the scheme.

The response deadline depends on which sub-section triggered the notice. The table below sets out the four notice types the e-Proceedings facility handles and the statutory response window for each.

The critical legal point on the 143(1)(a) route is that silence is consent. The proviso to Section 143(1)(a) states that where no response is received within 30 days of issue of the intimation, the proposed adjustment is made. The notice is a proposal only for those 30 days; after that it hardens into a computation you must either pay or contest through a longer, costlier route. For a Section 139(9) defect the stakes are even sharper: under Section 139(9), a return not corrected within the allowed period is treated as an invalid return, meaning in law it was never filed - which can expose you to a late-filing fee under Section 234F of up to Rs 5,000 and interest under Section 234A.

Rectification under Section 154 is different in character. It corrects a "mistake apparent from the record", and the department may pass such an order within four years from the end of the financial year in which the original order was passed. A suo-moto Section 154 notice through e-Proceedings gives you a window to agree or object before that correction is finalised, so the response is your chance to stop an error before it becomes a demand.

Worked Resolution

Return to Rhea. Her Section 143(1)(a) notice proposes to add back Rs 1,50,000 that she had claimed but which does not appear in her AIS or Form 26AS. To decide how to respond, she first has to know what the adjustment does to her tax under the new regime for FY 2025-26. Her figures work out as follows, using the slabs and standard deduction verified in Oquilia's rate configuration.

Under the FY 2025-26 new-regime slabs - nil up to Rs 4,00,000, 5% to Rs 8,00,000, 10% to Rs 12,00,000, 15% to Rs 16,00,000 - Rhea's filed taxable income of Rs 11,75,000 produces base tax of Rs 63,750. She sits just above the Section 87A rebate threshold: the rebate of up to Rs 60,000 applies only where total income does not exceed Rs 12,00,000 in the new regime, so at Rs 11,75,000 she is not eligible for it. If CPC's adjustment stands, disallowing the Rs 1,50,000 lifts her taxable income to Rs 13,25,000 and her total liability to Rs 1,00,100 - an extra Rs 33,800. You can reproduce this arithmetic on Oquilia's income-tax calculator and stress-test it against the old regime on the old vs new comparison.

Rhea now faces a genuine choice with a hard 30-day clock. If the deduction was a data-entry error or an over-claim, she should agree to the adjustment in e-Proceedings, and the extra Rs 33,800 (plus any interest under Section 234B/234C) becomes payable as self-assessment tax. If the deduction is genuine - say a valid claim that simply had not yet flowed into her AIS - she should disagree, attach the supporting proof (the deduction certificate, the challan, the lender statement) as a PDF, and record her reasons in the remarks box. On submission the portal displays a success message with a Transaction ID and sends an email confirmation; that Transaction ID, generated at the moment of filing, is her proof that the response reached the department within the 30-day window.

Where Rhea needs more time - a bank confirmation that takes a week, say - e-Proceedings has an Adjournment option: she selects the date sought, a reason, remarks and any files, then submits. The request is logged, but granting it stays at the department's discretion within the 30-day window, so an adjournment is a request, never a guaranteed extension.

Step-by-Step: Filing the Response

The mechanics are the same whatever the notice type. Follow these seven steps inside the portal:

1. Log in at incometax.gov.in with your PAN and password, then open Pending Actions > e-Proceedings; active notices carry the DIN and the response due-date.
2. Click View Notices to read the notice and download every attachment; note the exact section quoted and the response window (30 days for 143(1)(a), 15 days for 139(9)).
3. Select Submit Response and choose Agree or Disagree (or Partially Agree, where the notice offers it) for each proposed item.
4. For a disagreement, enter your reason in the remarks field and attach documentary proof - each file within the portal's size limit, in PDF or the permitted format.
5. If you cannot respond in time, use Seek Adjournment: pick the date sought, the reason and remarks, then submit.
6. To let a chartered accountant act for you, add an Authorised Representative; the portal sends a 6-digit OTP to your primary registered mobile to activate them, and you can withdraw the authority later.
7. Submit, then save the on-screen Transaction ID and the confirmation email as your evidence of timely filing.

A word on Authorised Representatives, because it is where delegated responses go wrong. The OTP that activates your representative is a 6-digit code sent only to the primary mobile registered on the portal, so if your registered number is stale the activation fails silently and your CA cannot file. Verify the registered contact details before the 30-day clock starts, not on day 29.

FAQ

What happens if I miss the 30-day window on a 143(1)(a) notice?

Under the proviso to Section 143(1)(a), if you do not respond within 30 days of the issue of the intimation, the proposed adjustment is made and a revised intimation is issued reflecting the higher tax. You then lose the cheap, in-portal route and must pursue a rectification under Section 154 or an appeal, both of which are slower. Treat the 30-day figure as the single hardest deadline in the whole process.

Is a Section 143(1)(a) intimation the same as a demand notice?

No. For its first 30 days it is a proposal to adjust your computation, and you can agree or disagree inside e-Proceedings. It only becomes a demand under Section 156 if you either agree or fail to respond, at which point the recomputed tax - Rs 33,800 in Rhea's example - is payable. Check whether the disputed amount reconciles with your TDS and Form 26AS before you decide.

How long do I get to fix a defective return under Section 139(9)?

The standard period is 15 days from the date of the notice, though the Assessing Officer has the power to extend it on a written request. If you neither rectify nor obtain an extension, Section 139(9) provides that the return is treated as invalid - in law, as if you never filed - which can attract the late-filing fee under Section 234F of up to Rs 5,000 for returns filed after the due date.

Can my chartered accountant respond on my behalf?

Yes, through the Authorised Representative feature. You add the representative in your profile and activate them with a 6-digit OTP sent to your primary registered mobile number; you can withdraw the authority at any time. The representative then sees and answers the notices you have assigned, but the legal responsibility for the accuracy of the response, and for meeting the 30-day or 15-day deadline, stays with you.

Do I get any proof that my response was actually submitted?

Yes. On successful submission the portal displays a success message containing a unique Transaction ID, and an email confirmation is sent to your registered address. Save both. If a later demand ignores your reply, the Transaction ID generated at the moment of filing is your primary evidence that the response was lodged within the statutory window.

What is a faceless assessment and why is there no officer to meet?

Since Section 144B took effect on 1 April 2021, scrutiny assessments are routed through the National Faceless Assessment Centre, which allocates your file to an unnamed unit by automated system. There is deliberately no local officer and no counter; all communication runs through e-Proceedings, and any personal hearing is granted only by video conferencing under the scheme. The design, notified by the CBDT, is meant to remove physical interface and the discretion that came with it.

I disagree with a Section 154 rectification the department proposes - can I object?

Yes. A suo-moto Section 154 notice corrects a "mistake apparent from the record", and e-Proceedings lets you file an objection with supporting documents before it is finalised. The department can pass a rectification order within four years from the end of the financial year in which the original order was made, so a prompt response is your chance to stop a wrong correction before it hardens into a demand.