Indian scrutiny assessment (s.143(2)) — is this a do-it-yourself job?
Some of it, yes — and we will say so on the call if that is the honest answer. The parts that are worth paying for are the ones where a missed election, a missed deadline or an unverified threshold costs more than the fee: responses are uploaded with documentary evidence, and the record built at this stage is what the appellate stages read.
What if I have already filed and got it wrong?
That is a common starting point. We re-derive the position, identify whether an amendment or a disclosure route is the right vehicle, and tell you which one preserves the relief that is still available. The order matters more than the speed.
How long will it take?
It depends on the documents rather than on us. Once the pack is complete most filings turn around inside a fortnight; anything that needs a certificate from a tax authority runs on that authority's timetable, which we tell you at the start rather than at the end.
What does a section 143(2) scrutiny notice mean for my return?
It means the return you filed has been selected for examination rather than accepted as filed. The examination is conducted largely through a faceless electronic process, so there is no local officer to call and no file to walk into. Everything is a document uploaded against a specific query, and the queries arrive with response windows that run from the date of the notice rather than from when you happen to see it. The practical consequence for someone living abroad is that the timetable does not adjust to the time it takes to obtain records from another country.
How does faceless assessment work if I live outside India?
The exchange happens entirely on the portal. Queries are issued, responses are uploaded with the documents attached, and the officer considering them is not identified to you. Nothing is decided on a conversation, which cuts both ways: you cannot explain a document, but equally nothing enters the record that you did not put there in writing. That makes the quality of each upload decisive. A reply that answers the question asked, attaches the evidence it refers to, and is legible in the form uploaded is worth far more than a longer one that leaves the reader to assemble it.
Do I have to travel to India for a scrutiny assessment?
Generally no. The process is built around electronic submission, and responses are uploaded with their documentary evidence rather than presented in person. What travel does not solve, and what does need attention, is the sourcing of documents. Bank confirmations, employer letters, registry extracts and translated records all have to be obtained from the institutions that hold them, and that is the part of the work that takes real time. Planning the document requests at the start of the examination, rather than when a query arrives, is what keeps the timetable manageable.
How do I prove I was a non-resident for that year?
With contemporaneous records rather than assertions. Your presence and absence are evidenced by the passport record, and your circumstances abroad by the things that existed at the time: the employment or posting documentation, the foreign tax filings for the corresponding period, the tenancy or property record, and the accounts operated where you were living. The point to grasp is that residency evidence should be established during the examination itself, not held back. The record built at this stage is what any later stage reads, and a status asserted late reads very differently from one documented at the outset.
Can I raise my treaty claim later if scrutiny goes against me?
You can raise it later, but you should not plan to. Treaty entitlement rests on facts and documents, and the appellate stages are reading the record that the examination produced. A claim that appears for the first time after an adverse order invites the question of why it was not made when the department asked, and it arrives without the supporting material that would have been natural to file at the time. Establishing entitlement during the examination, with the residence evidence and the source documents attached, is both cheaper and considerably more persuasive.
What happens if I miss the deadline to respond to scrutiny?
The examination does not pause because a response did not arrive. Deadlines run from the notice, and an unanswered query is generally dealt with on the material the department already holds, which is by definition only its side of the story. The damage is not only to that year. Because the record built during the examination is what later stages read, a gap left at this point stays in the file and has to be explained every time it is opened. Where a window has already been missed, the work turns to putting the fullest possible response on the record at the earliest remaining opportunity.
I have not filed for several years while living abroad — what are my options?
Both countries have routes back, and using one before they contact you is what preserves the relief. On the US side there are procedures aimed at taxpayers whose failure was not wilful, including one designed for people living outside the country, and separate procedures for late account reports and information returns alone. Canada has its voluntary disclosures programme and taxpayer relief for penalties and interest. Filing quietly and hoping is the one approach with no protection attached to it. See catch-up filing.
Can an NRI claim back TDS deducted on Indian income?
Yes, by filing an Indian return for the year. Withholding on rent, interest, dividends, professional fees or a property sale is an advance payment, not a final tax, so where the actual liability is lower — because of the treaty, because of the basic exemption, or because the deduction was computed on gross proceeds rather than gain — the excess comes back as a refund. It needs your PAN, a validated Indian bank account and the deductor's statement filed. See Indian filing and credit claims.
