Clipped from: https://www.financialexpress.com/money/flag-ais-errors-on-e-filing-portal-but-dont-miss-deadline-for-filing-itr-4235821/
Once updated details are reflected in AIS, file revised return
Why Taxpayers Must Act Before the 2026 Filing Deadline to Avoid Automated Notices
A mismatch between the annual information statement (AIS) and income tax return (ITR) can trigger automated alerts, as the income tax department has enhanced its data analytics and risk assessment systems. Taxpayers must verify all information and correct any discrepancy in AIS before filing their ITR.
The AIS reflects financial data available with the tax department, based on information received from third-party sources like banks, employers, mutual funds, and property registrars. While the AIS is a helpful tool for pre-filing verification, it may have errors due to incomplete reporting by third parties.
The AIS data for the full financial year is typically updated only by May, after all transactions for March, reported in April are processed. It is prudent to verify the AIS data with bank statements, TDS certificate, interest certificate and ensure that the AIS is updated for transactions up to March 31, 2026.
Discrepancies in AIS
Banks or other entities may report gross interest instead of net or may incorrectly mention the TDS amount. In case of double reporting, especially in the case of securities or mutual fund sales, the same transaction may appear more than once, inflating the reported amount.
Sometimes, income related to a joint account, family member, or unrelated party may appear in the AIS of the wrong individual because an incorrect PAN was quoted. Moreover, the AIS may reflect transactions from earlier periods or may take time to update after corrections are made by the reporting entity.
Check mismatched details
Taxpayers must check if there are any mismatched TDS details compared to Form 26AS, and omitted or delayed TDS credits by deductors. Other issues involve non-reporting of small interest or dividend amounts, improper reporting of purchase and sale of securities, exclusion of clubbed income or gifts which are still required to be reported in the ITR, and mismatches in total receipts or high-value financial transactions.
Further, there are timing issues where banks may report fixed deposit interest only at maturity, leading to inflated annual income, and TDS amounts not in sync with Form 26AS or certificate data.
How to rectify the discrepancy
If a discrepancy arises, the taxpayer should use the online feedback feature in the e-filing portal, selecting from options like “information is correct,” “information is not taxable,” “information is not fully correct,” “information is duplicate,” or “information denied. The AIS is required to be corrected by the reporting entities within 90 days from the end of the month in which the information is received.
Sandeep Sehgal, partner, Tax, AKM Global, a tax and consulting firm, says the systems first prompt taxpayers through soft communications such as emails or SMS, giving them an opportunity to voluntarily correct mismatches between AIS and ITR. “If the discrepancies are not resolved, the department may subsequently issue intimations or formal tax notices,” he says.
Neeraj Agarwala, senior partner, Nangia & Company, says taxpayers must flag the reporting error in AIS through feedback and wait for the rectification. “However, they should not indefinitely delay filing their returns solely awaiting backend corrections, especially close to the due date,” he says. Once the updated details are reflected in AIS, a revised return can be filed to incorporate the corrected information.
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