Various tax payments are made throughout the year and while making such tax payments, you must have come across the term ‘challan’. It is essentially a form that helps you pay taxes to the government.
Now, picture this, you’re using the E-filing Portal to submit your taxes, and you realize that you’ve entered the wrong details in the challan. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Earlier, to rectify any errors in the challan, you had to approach the assessing officer (AO) and place a request for correction of the errors in the challan. Further, you had to file a letter in the prescribed format and attach a copy of the challan paid. Too much, Right?
Through the “Challan Correction” feature on the e-filing portal, you can now rectify certain errors in the challans online, reducing the hassle and time associated with this process.
Which fields can be corrected in the Challan?
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Tax Year: A very common mistake while making tax payments is selecting the wrong tax year, which leads to the payment getting recorded for a different year than intended. With the challan correction feature, you can now correct the tax year for which the payment was made.
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Specific Minor Heads: Challan Correction requests can be submitted exclusively for Minor Heads 100 (Advance Tax), 300 (Self-Assessment Tax), and 400 (Demand Payment as Regular Assessment Tax), along with their corresponding Major Heads.
The feature covers challans from AY 2020-21 onwards under the 1961 Act, and TY 2026-27 onwards under the 2025 Act. This means taxpayers requiring corrections for previous years will need to approach their assessing officer. Moreover, for corrections involving Minor Heads other than 100, 300, and 400, submission of challan correction requests to the assessing officer remains necessary.
Note: Here’s a time-sensitive detail to keep in mind: If you are making a change in the assessment year/tax year, your challan correction request should be submitted within 7 days from the day you paid the challan. Further, if you are making a change in the ‘Minor Head’ the correction request should be made within 30 days of paying the challan. If these deadlines slip by, and the window closes you will have to seek assistance by reaching out to your AO.
How can you submit a challan correction request on the E-Filing Portal?
- Login to the E-Filing Portal.
- Go to Dashboard > Services > Challan Correction.
- Click on Create Challan Correction Request.
- Select attributes for correction in the challan.
- Provide Assessment Year (for 1961 Act) or Tax Year (for 2025 Act), or enter the CIN to locate your challan correction request.
- Update the details for correction and submit.
What you cannot correct online:
- The amount paid
- The major head (e.g., Income Tax vs. Corporate Tax)
For these errors, you’ll need to claim the payment as tax credit in your ITR for the correct year, or approach your AO if that’s not possible.
For further queries, comment below!