You can get tax notice despite filing ITR; know possible reasons and what you can do

Are you worried of a tax notice hitting your mailbox despite filing your return on time? Don't let a tax notice intimidate you. If the notice is sent under section 139 (9) of Income Tax Act, it is about defective return. How diligent you may be at the time of filing return, the mad rush to meet the deadline can bring a few slip ups in the return. Actually, the task is not over once you file your return. After the return is filed from your end, the tax department goes through them in order to validate it. If it is unable to, it sends a notice to you informing that your returns are considered as defective as specified Section 139 (9) of the Indian Income Tax Act, 1961.

You need not panic upon receiving such a notice. The good news is you can rectify the errors pointed out and then file again. To accomplish this tax, the department gives 15 days time. And your return too would be deemed original and retains the same filing date as in the previous return. However, if you ignore it or fail to make rectifications within the stipulated time, your return will be deemed invalid.

A return can be deemed defective by IT department under Section 139(9) for errors that could be major or minor. Here're some key reasons:

Failure to pay tax on your FD beyond the tax deducted at source by bank or forgetting to mention the challan number of the amount deposited as self-assessment tax in case of tax liability.   
Missing out on income details in the return even when you have filled up details of the taxes paid
Claiming refund on deducted tax without any income details
If you fail to pay your taxes in full
Failure to attach balance sheet and profit and loss statement in case of income computed under the head 'profit and gains'
Undergone audit under section 44AB but missed submitting a copy as proof
Where the name mentioned on the income tax return does not match with the name on the PAN card
A return can also be deemed defective where domestic status is mentioned as 'domestic' but the residential status is entered as 'non-resident'.
Leaving any mandatory field empty can be another reason.

Here's how you can rectify the errors
Log in to the Income Tax e-filing portal using your user id and password.
Click on the option saying, 'e-file in response to Section 139(9).
A page will open where you can change the info accordingly.
If you agree with the defect specified there, please click on 'Yes' on column on question about defect.
Upload the relevant return XML.
Note down the e-filing acknowledgement number and the date when you filed the previous tax return