AIS Shows Interest or Rent You Didn't Earn: Feedback Portal Steps + Draft Reply
s.285BA AIS feedback protects you when AIS shows interest or rent you didn't earn — mark the entry 'Information is incorrect', the status turns Modified or Disputed, which blocks a 143(1) adjustment but does not remove the entry. Keep the acknowledgment.
Harun Raaj
Chartered Accountant · Harun Raaj & Associates
When your AIS shows interest from a bank account you closed or rent on a property you never rented out, mark the entry "Information is incorrect" or "partially incorrect" through the AIS feedback portal under s.285BA of the Income-tax Act, 1961 — the entry then displays as "Modified" or "Disputed," which does not remove it automatically but does protect you when the CPC processes your return under s.143(1). The AIS is information, not a tax assessment: it tells you what the department has been told, and feedback tells the department what is wrong with it. File the feedback, keep the acknowledgment, and file your return on your actual income — not on the AIS figure.
Where the wrong entries come from
The AIS aggregates reports from third parties (SFT filers) and shows them against your PAN:
Banks report interest above the SFT thresholds — savings-account interest above ₹10,000 and fixed-deposit interest above the higher reporting limits in a year. on the exact current SFT thresholds. Below-threshold interest is not reported, which is why "missing" interest in AIS does not mean it is not taxable.
The feedback workflow
- Log in to the income-tax portal → AIS → download the PDF and JSON.
- Match every entry against your actual income records (bank statements, rent agreement, Form 16).
- For each wrong entry, click the entry → "Submit Feedback".
- Choose the reason — for a genuinely wrong entry, select "Information is incorrect" (or "Information is partially incorrect" if part of it belongs to you).
- Submit — the AIS then displays the entry as "Modified" or "Disputed" alongside the original value.
- Save the feedback acknowledgment number and a screenshot — you will need them if the CPC queries the difference.
Feedback does not delete the entry from the department's records. It flags it for the processing system so your return is not blindly adjusted against it — the protection, not the removal, is the point.
Why it matters for 143(1)
The CPC's s.143(1) engine compares your return against AIS/26AS data. If the AIS shows ₹40,000 of interest you did not earn and your return shows nothing, the engine can raise a demand for the "missing" income. A filed feedback with a "Disputed/Modified" status tells the engine the entry is challenged — and gives you a documented defence if a notice still arrives. Without feedback, you are reconciling after the demand, not before it.
Changed FY 2025-26: No change to the AIS feedback mechanism. The change is data completeness — more SFT sources (banks, registrars, RTAs) now report to AIS, so more wrong entries surface. The workflow is the same; the volume of entries to check is higher.
Worked example: Riya's phantom interest and rent
Persona: Riya, salaried, opens her AIS before filing AY 2026-27 and finds two entries she does not recognise:
- ₹40,000 savings-account interest — from a bank account she closed in March 2024.
- ₹1,20,000 rental income — on a flat registered in her name; her father collects the rent.
Step 1 — Verify. Riya checks her bank statements (no ₹40,000 interest received in FY 2025-26) and the rent history.
Step 2 — Feedback.
- Interest entry: "Information is incorrect" — reason: account closed, income not received in the year.
- Rent entry: only the numeric value can be corrected in feedback. Ownership matters here: under s.22 r/w s.27, house-property income is chargeable to the owner, and s.60 keeps income attached to the owner where the asset is not transferred. So unless the flat has been validly gifted or transferred to her father (registered gift deed / conveyance), the rent is Riya's income — she must offer it in her return; the father filing it does not shift the liability.
Step 3 — Acknowledge. She saves the feedback acknowledgment numbers and screenshots.
Step 4 — File. Riya files her ITR reflecting her actual income — no phantom interest, and the ₹1,20,000 rent under Schedule HP (Income from House Property). If a valid transfer to the father exists, keep the deed + acknowledgment ready to challenge any AO query.
Step 5 — If a demand still arrives (because the feedback was processed after her filing), she responds by attaching the feedback acknowledgments and the bank/rent records — the documented defence closes it.
Draft reply when a notice follows
If the CPC still raises a demand, respond on the portal (or by letter) along these lines:
I refer to the AIS entry of ₹40,000 shown as interest from [Bank Name], account [XXXX]. This account was closed on [date], and no interest was credited to me in FY 2025-26. I have submitted feedback in the AIS portal marking this entry "Information is incorrect," feedback acknowledgment no. [number], a screenshot of which is attached. The amount is not my income and should not be added to my returned income.
Attach: the feedback screenshot, the account-closure record, and the bank statement showing no credit.
See Also
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does AIS show interest I never earned?
Banks report interest above SFT thresholds. If an account was closed mid-year or the interest was reversed, the bank may still report it. Mark the entry as 'Information is incorrect' via AIS feedback under s.285BA.
Does AIS feedback remove the entry from my records?
No. Feedback flags the entry for the processing system so your return is not adjusted against incorrect data. The original entry remains visible with a status like 'Modified' or 'Disputed.'
What does AIS feedback protect me from?
It protects you from a s.143(1) adjustment — the automated processing system that compares your return against AIS/26AS data. Without feedback, the CPC may add the incorrect interest to your income and raise a demand.
Is AIS interest below the reporting threshold still taxable?
Yes. SFT thresholds are about reporting, not taxability. Interest you actually earned is taxable whether or not it appears in AIS. The threshold determines whether the bank must report it.
What if a demand arrives after I filed feedback?
Respond with the feedback acknowledgment and supporting documents on the portal. If the demand is under s.143(1), attach the acknowledgment. You can also seek rectification under s.154.
Go deeper with our hub guides
Statute-cited, section-by-section guides covering the same ground this article does.
Need help with this?
Our team handles the paperwork. You focus on your business.