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Income Tax Act 2025 · Assessment

Assessment, Scrutiny & Reassessment Notices — Income-tax Act 2025

How returns are processed and assessed — intimation, scrutiny (143(2)), best-judgment, and reassessment of past years, plus how to respond to each notice.

Chapter XVI of the Income-tax Act, 2025 covers how the department processes and assesses your return — and how it reopens past years. Understanding these provisions is essential the moment you receive any notice.

  • Processing & intimation — the automated check of your filed return.
  • Scrutiny assessment — detailed examination after a notice, conducted faceless.
  • Best-judgment assessment — where you do not respond.
  • Reassessment — reopening an earlier year where income is believed to have escaped assessment (the successor to the 147/148/148A regime).

If you have received a notice, read the relevant section and — for a high-stakes matter — see our Scrutiny Defence and Reassessment Defence services.

Sections in this topic

§268
Section 268 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Inquiry Before Assessment (Notice, Special Audit & Statement of Assets)
Inquiry before assessment
§269
Section 269 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Estimation of Value of Assets by Valuation Officer
Estimation of value of assets by Valuation Officer
§270
Section 270 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Assessment: Processing of Returns, Prima Facie Adjustments & Scrutiny
Assessment
§271
Section 271 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Best Judgment Assessment by the Assessing Officer
Best judgment assessment
§272
Section 272 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Power of Joint Commissioner to Issue Directions in Certain Cases
Power of Joint Commissioner to issue directions in certain cases
§273
Section 273 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Faceless Assessment (NFAC, Units & Procedure)
Section 273
§274
Section 274 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Reference to Principal Commissioner or Commissioner in GAAR Cases
Reference to Principal Commissioner or Commissioner in certain cases
§275
Section 275 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Reference to Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP)
Reference to Dispute Resolution Panel
§277
Section 277 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Method of Accounting: Valuation of Inventory and Securities
Section 277
§278
Section 278 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Taxability of Certain Income (Interest on Compensation, Escalation Claims & Export Incentives)
Taxability of certain income
§279
Section 279 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Income Escaping Assessment (Reassessment Power)
Income escaping assessment
§280
Section 280 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Issue of Notice Where Income Has Escaped Assessment (Reassessment Notice)
Issue of notice where income has escaped assessment
§281
Section 281 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Procedure Before Issuance of Notice for Income Escaping Assessment (Show-Cause Stage)
Procedure before issuance of notice under section 280
§282
Section 282 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Time Limit for Reassessment Notices Under Sections 280 and 281 (Income Escaping Assessment)
Time limit for notices under sections 280 and 281
§285
Section 285 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Other Provisions in Reassessment of Escaped Income (Tax Rate & Dropping of Proceedings)
Other provisions
§286
Section 286 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Time Limit for Completion of Assessment, Reassessment and Recomputation
Time limit for completion of assessment, reassessment and recomputation
§287
Section 287 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Rectification of Mistake Apparent from the Record
Rectification of mistake
§288
Section 288 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Other Amendments (Post-Assessment Rectification)
Other amendments
§289
Section 289 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Notice of Demand (Old Section 156)
Notice of demand
§290
Section 290 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Modification and Revision of Demand Notice in Insolvency (IBC) Cases
Modification and revision of notice in certain cases
§291
Section 291 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Intimation of Loss
Intimation of loss
§292
Section 292 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Block Assessment of Undisclosed Income After Search
Assessment of total undisclosed income as a result of search
§293
Section 293 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Computation of Total Undisclosed Income of the Block Period
Computation of total undisclosed income of block period
§294
Section 294 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Procedure for Block Assessment in Search Cases
Procedure for block assessment
§295
Section 295 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Undisclosed Income of Any Other Person (Block Assessment)
Section 295
§296
Section 296 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Time-Limit for Completion of Block Assessment (Search Cases)
Time-limit for completion of block assessment
§297
Section 297 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Certain Interests and Penalties Not to Be Levied in Block Assessment of Search Cases
Certain interests and penalties not to be levied or imposed
§298
Section 298 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Levy of Interest and Penalty in Block Assessment (Search Cases)
Levy of interest and penalty in certain cases. [S. 158BFA of the 1961 Act]
§300
Section 300 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Application of Other Provisions to Block Assessment
Application of other provisions of Act
§301
Section 301 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Block Assessment Definitions (Block Period & Undisclosed Income)
Interpretation

Frequently asked questions

What is a scrutiny assessment?
A detailed examination of your filed return after a notice is issued, conducted through the faceless system, ending in an assessment order.
What is reassessment?
Reopening of an earlier year where the department believes income escaped assessment — the successor to the Section 147/148/148A regime, with its own procedure and time limits.
Disclaimer: Educational overview of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (effective 1 April 2026), not professional advice. Confirm your position with our team before acting.

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On this page

§268 — Section 268 of the Income-tax Act,...§269 — Section 269 of the Income-tax Act,...§270 — Section 270 of the Income-tax Act,...§271 — Section 271 of the Income-tax Act,...§272 — Section 272 of the Income-tax Act,...§273 — Section 273 of the Income-tax Act,...§274 — Section 274 of the Income-tax Act,...§275 — Section 275 of the Income-tax Act,...§277 — Section 277 of the Income-tax Act,...§278 — Section 278 of the Income-tax Act,...§279 — Section 279 of the Income-tax Act,...§280 — Section 280 of the Income-tax Act,...§281 — Section 281 of the Income-tax Act,...§282 — Section 282 of the Income-tax Act,...§285 — Section 285 of the Income-tax Act,...§286 — Section 286 of the Income-tax Act,...§287 — Section 287 of the Income-tax Act,...§288 — Section 288 of the Income-tax Act,...§289 — Section 289 of the Income-tax Act,...§290 — Section 290 of the Income-tax Act,...§291 — Section 291 of the Income-tax Act,...§292 — Section 292 of the Income-tax Act,...§293 — Section 293 of the Income-tax Act,...§294 — Section 294 of the Income-tax Act,...§295 — Section 295 of the Income-tax Act,...§296 — Section 296 of the Income-tax Act,...§297 — Section 297 of the Income-tax Act,...§298 — Section 298 of the Income-tax Act,...§300 — Section 300 of the Income-tax Act,...§301 — Section 301 of the Income-tax Act,...

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