Claim audit · FY 2026-27

“TDS was already deducted from my salary and FD interest, so I do not need to file an ITR.”

The claim 'TDS deducted, so no ITR' confuses withholding with final liability. Under section 139(1), every person whose total income exceeds the basic exemption limit — Rs 2.5 lakh under the old regime, Rs 3 lakh under the new regime — must file a return. TDS is merely a credit against that liability. If TDS deducted exceeds the actual tax, the refund is paid only after the return is processed; if TDS is short, the return generates a demand with interest under 234A (late filing) and 234B (default in advance tax). Since 2019, Form 26AS/AIS feeds the CPC's return-issue engine: a PAN showing large TDS credits (say, salary TDS of Rs 3 lakh) with no ITR is automatically flagged under the high-value non-filer programme, triggering notices under section 142(1) and, for deliberate non-filers, prosecution under 276CC where tax evaded exceeds Rs 25 lakh. Finance Act 2019 added section 139(1)(vii)-(ix), making ITR compulsory even below the exemption limit if you: (a) spend more than Rs 2 lakh on foreign travel; (b) deposit more than Rs 1 crore in one or more current accounts; (c) incur electricity bills above Rs 1 lakh in a year; or (d) have business turnover above Rs 60 lakh or professional gross receipts above Rs 10 lakh. Non-filing costs a section 234F fee of Rs 5,000 (Rs 1,000 if income up to Rs 5 lakh) if the return is filed after the due date, or Rs 10,000 for a belated return after 31 December of the assessment year. The safe position: TDS is a prepayment, not a settlement; the only way to convert TDS into a final liability or a refund claim is the ITR.