Any mistake in the Income tax order will not nullify provided it contains DIN, says Budget 2026
Feb 1, 2026
Synopsis
Budget 2026 clarifies that assessment orders under the Income Tax Act will not be invalidated due to mistakes or omissions if a Document Identification Number (DIN) is lawfully generated and quoted.
Budget 2026 has clarified that any assessment order which includes ITR, assessment, notice, summons or other proceeding in pursuance of any of the provisions of Income Tax Act will not be invalid merely due to mistake, defect or omission. This will happen if Document Identification Number (DIN) has been lawfully generated and quoted in communication with the orders.
According to the Budget 2026 documents, “The Income-tax Act, 2025 is coming into force from the 1st of April, 2026. The objective of the new law has been to provide simplicity in language and provisions so as to avoid interpretational issues and prevent litigation. Therefore, there is an urgent need to clarify the position of law in the new Income-tax Act, 2025. The intention of the legislature also needs to be clearly laid out in the Income-tax Act, 1961 so that the intent is uniformly reflected in the two Acts.”
“Accordingly, it is proposed to clarify in section 292B that notwithstanding anything contained in any judgment, order or decree of court, no assessment in pursuance of any of the provisions of Income-tax Act, 1961 shall be invalid or shall be deemed to have been invalid on the ground of any mistake, defect or omission in respect of quoting of a computer generated Document Identification Number, if such assessment order are referenced by such number in any manner. Further, this amendment seeks to clarify as long as there is a reference of DIN in the assessment order, the same would be sufficient compliance even if there may be some minor mistakes, defects or omissions in notices or summons in relation to such assessment. Suitable amendments are also proposed to be carried out in the Income-tax Act, 2025 so that correct interpretation is taken, litigation is minimized and certainty is achieved,” said the Budget document.
How this will impact you?
Aditi Goyal, Partner- Tax Practice, Trilegal says, "Another significant development is on procedural lapses related to the Document Identification Numbers (DIN). The proposed amendments clarify that assessment cannot be invalidated on the ground of any mistake, defect, or omission in quoting DIN, if the assessment order is referenced by a DIN in any manner. All these amendments have been brought in retrospectively. Even if these amendments do not necessarily favour taxpayers, they will bring much needed clarity and reduce litigation on these issues.”
When will this law come into effect?
The clarification in Income-tax Act, 1961 shall come into force with retrospective effect from 1.4. 2009 in respect of section 153 and from 1.10.2009 in respect of section 153B. The amendment in Income-tax Act, 2025 shall come into force with effect from 1st day of April, 2026.
What is DIN
All notices are compulsorily to be computer system generated with Document Identification Number (DIN) effective from October 1, 2019. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had issued a circular according to which every income tax notice issued by the department will have a computer-generated Document Identification Number (DIN) in August 2019.
[The Economic Times]
