AIS / TIS reconciliation — the 7 mismatches that trigger Sec 143(1) notices

What AIS actually contains

AIS pulls data from ~40 distinct sources: bank statements (via SFT), stock exchanges (CG entries), mutual funds (redemption), property registrars, GST portal (turnover), TDS/TCS (Form 26AS feeds), credit cards (high-value spend), foreign remittance reporting. Every transaction tagged to your PAN ends up here.

TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary) is a cleaner one-page summary. It rolls up AIS line-items into 5-6 high-level buckets per income head. For most filers, TIS is the practical reference; AIS is the deep-dive when something doesn't match.

The 7 most common mismatches

1. Savings-account interest

Banks report total interest credited to your account during the year via SFT. If your ITR shows ₹3,400 of savings interest and AIS shows ₹4,200, the system flags a ₹800 under-reporting. Fix: pull the bank's interest certificate (Form 16A or interest statement), reconcile, file revised ITR if there was a genuine error or submit AIS feedback if the bank reported wrong.

2. Fixed-deposit interest

FD interest is reported in AIS even if it's below the ₹40K (₹50K for senior) TDS threshold. Most filers miss this — they only declare interest where TDS was deducted (visible in 26AS). AIS picks up all interest, including from co-operative banks, post office, NBFC deposits, FD interest credited at maturity (not annually).

3. Equity sale — Schedule CG

Exchanges report every off-market and on-market equity transaction. AIS shows full sale value, not just gain. If you sold shares of ₹2 L and the gain was ₹40K, AIS lists ₹2 L; you must show the full transaction in Schedule CG (not just the gain). Filers using ITR-1 (which has no CG schedule) automatically trigger a defective return notice.

4. Mutual fund redemption

RTAs (CAMS, KFin) report MF redemption transactions. SIP redemptions are aggregated; lumpsum redemptions reported individually. Mismatches arise because: (a) ELSS redemption after 3 years counts as LTCG (forgotten), (b) debt MF redemption is now business income at slab rate post FA 2023 (instead of capital gain), (c) MF switches between schemes count as redemption + fresh investment.

5. GST turnover for proprietorships

If you have a GSTIN, your aggregate turnover from GSTR-1 feeds into AIS. If you've declared ₹40 L turnover in ITR but GSTR-1 shows ₹45 L, the system flags ₹5 L under-declaration. Common cause: ITR shows GST-exclusive turnover, AIS shows GST-inclusive. Reconciliation: ITR turnover = AIS turnover − output GST claimed.

6. Foreign remittance under Sec 195 (LRS outward)

Bank reports every outward LRS remittance (USD, education fees, investment abroad). AIS pulls this. If you remitted ₹15 L for child's tuition and didn't disclose foreign expenditure / Schedule FA — flagged.

7. Dividend income

Post FA 2020, dividend is taxable in the shareholder's hands at slab rate. Companies report dividend distributions to PAN. The mismatch arises when filers declared dividend in "income from other sources" but AIS shows it as separate. Fix: use Schedule OS in ITR-2 with category "dividend".

The AIS feedback procedure

For any wrong entry in AIS (e.g. duplicate report by two sources, wrong PAN tagging), the e-filing portal has a feedback path:

1. Log in → e-File → AIS
2. Click the specific transaction → "Submit feedback"
3. Pick from 5 options: "Information is correct", "Income is not taxable", "Information is duplicate / included in another year", "Information relates to another PAN / year", "Information is denied"
4. Add a free-text explanation
5. Submit. The reporting source is alerted to verify.

Feedback should ideally be submitted before filing the ITR — that way the AIS auto-updates and your ITR data aligns.

What a Sec 143(1) intimation looks like

An automated intimation lists, side-by-side, your declared income vs the AIS / TIS / 26AS data. The differential is the proposed tax demand. You have 30 days to:

• Agree and pay the differential (with interest under Sec 234B/C)
• Disagree and respond via e-Proceedings with a reconciliation showing the system was wrong
• File a revised ITR if you'd genuinely under-reported (within revised-return window, currently up to 31-Dec of the AY)

The Finclar take

Before filing ITR, spend 30 minutes on AIS reconciliation. Open TIS, check every category, click into AIS for any item that looks new. If something is wrong, file AIS feedback before ITR. The result: no Sec 143(1) intimation, no re-engagement with the portal post-filing, no scrutiny escalation. We charge ~₹1,500 for this reconciliation as a standalone service; the upside of avoiding a real notice (which can take 3-6 months to close) is enormous.