When can an income-tax return be revised?
An income-tax return filed under section 139(1) or section 139(4) can be revised under section 139(5) up to 31 December of the assessment year, or before the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier. For assessment year 2026-27 that December date has not passed. The revised return replaces the return it corrects, and it has to be e-verified.
When is a revised return filed?
Section 139(5) is the correction the taxpayer files while that window is open. It can change a figure, an omission, or a wrong claim in the earlier return. The earlier return may be the return filed by the due date, or a belated return under section 139(4). The form is the form that return used, on the ITR forms page.
The revised return is e-verified within 30 days, by the same modes as the income-tax return. A company verifies ITR-6 with a digital signature. A return that is not verified in that time is treated as not filed.
Can it be filed after processing?
Yes, if the date is still open and the assessment is not completed. An intimation under section 143(1) means the return has been processed. Processing is not completion of the assessment. A revised return can therefore be filed after that intimation, up to 31 December of the assessment year or until the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
What is still open after 31 December?
The three filings are not substitutes for one another.
| Filing | What it can do |
|---|---|
| Revised return, section 139(5) | Corrects a return filed under section 139(1) or 139(4), up to 31 December of the assessment year or before the assessment is completed. |
| Updated return, section 139(8A) | May be filed within 48 months from the end of the assessment year, with the additional tax that section requires. It cannot reduce the tax. |
| Rectification, section 154 | Corrects a mistake apparent from the record. It does not add a claim the return never made. |
The 48-month period, and the December date for a revised or belated return, are stated on the due-dates page. An updated return is not a way to restore a year the Act has already closed for a revision.
When is a rectification the right filing?
Section 154 is used when the mistake is apparent from the record, in the return or in the intimation. The application may be made within four years from the end of the financial year in which the order or the intimation was passed. A deduction or an exemption that was never claimed is not a mistake apparent from the record. That claim needed the revised return, while section 139(5) was still open.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover processing, verification, an updated return, and a new deduction.
Does processing stop a revised return?
No. An intimation under section 143(1) is not completion of the assessment. The revised return is still open until 31 December of the assessment year, or until the assessment is completed, whichever is earlier.
Must the revised return be verified?
Yes. It is e-verified within 30 days, in the same way as the return it corrects. A return that is not verified in that time is treated as not filed.
Can an updated return reduce the tax?
No. An updated return under section 139(8A) is filed with the additional tax that section requires. It is not a way to lower the tax or to claim a refund the earlier return did not.
Can a rectification add a new deduction?
No. Section 154 corrects a mistake apparent from the record. It does not reopen the return so that a deduction never claimed can be added.
Sources
A revised return is section 139(5). An updated return is section 139(8A). A mistake apparent from the record is section 154.