How to File Income Tax Rectification Request under Section 154: Fix Intimation Order Errors

What is Section 154 Rectification?

Under Section 154 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, an income tax authority (including CPC Bengaluru or your Jurisdictional Assessing Officer) can amend any order passed by it to rectify any "mistake apparent from the record". If your Section 143(1) processing intimation contains wrongful tax demands or disallows genuine TDS credits that were correctly furnished in your ITR, filing a Rectification Request under Section 154 is your fastest statutory remedy.

Permissible Grounds for Section 154 Rectification

You can file for Section 154 rectification under the following circumstances:

• TDS / TCS Mismatch: CPC failed to grant credit for TDS deducted by your employer or bank despite it reflecting in Form 26AS.
• Advance Tax / Self-Assessment Tax Omission: Tax payment challan (BSR code and challan serial number) was omitted or matched incorrectly during CPC processing.
• Clerical / Arithmetical Errors: Mathematical miscalculation of tax slab rates or surcharge by the processing system.
• Section 87A Rebate Disallowance: CPC improperly computed rebate on taxable income under ₹7 Lakhs.

Crucial Limitation: No New Income or Deductions Allowed

Section 154 CANNOT be used to claim fresh deductions (e.g., claiming 80C which was forgotten in the original ITR) or report new income streams. For changes in income or new claims, you must file an Updated Return (ITR-U) under Section 139(8A).

Step-by-Step Portal Filing Procedure

1. Log in to incometax.gov.in > Services > Rectification.
2. Click New Request > Select Order to Rectify: Income Tax > Select Assessment Year.
3. Choose Request Type: "Reprocess the return" (for system TDS credit bugs) or "Tax Credit Mismatch Correction" or "Return Data Correction (XML/JSON upload)".
4. Submit request and note the 15-digit Rectification Reference Number. CPC processes rectifications within 30 to 90 days.