Worried about a demand notice from the Income Tax (I-T) department under section 245 of the I-T Act, even after tax has been deducted at source from your salary? Relax. It is no longer tough to sort out the matter, thanks to a recent order of the Delhi High Court.

It is not unusal for a person to get a tax demand even after his employer cut his tax from his salary — called tax deducted at source (TDS). Furnishing proof, getting his status cleared, obtaining tax refunds, all used to be a harrowing experience for assessees. The problem stems from a mismatch of TDS details in the income tax returns (ITRs) and the TDS returns filed by the employers.

“A deductor should furnish his details as well as his employee’s correctly, and the employee must procure TDS certificate,” said Delhi-based chartered accountant Abhishek Aneja. 

“If an assessee receives notice under section 245, he should approach his jurisdictional assessing officer (AO), and not write to the Centralised Processing Centre,” he said.

The CBDT has instructed tax officials that assessees be allowed, within 30 days of intimation, to file reply before their AOs, who would communicate to the CPC for processing of refund or adjusting the demand. (Hindustan Times)