Processing of return.
149. (1) The Assessing Officer, or any other person authorised by the Board in this behalf (hereinafter referred to as the processing authority) shall process the return received under section 144 or section 146 in the following manner, namely:—
(a) the tax bases shall be computed after making the following adjustments, namely:—
(i) any arithmetical error in the return; or
(ii) an incorrect claim, if such incorrect claim is apparent from the existence of any information in the return;
(b) the tax and interest, if any, shall be computed on the basis of the tax base computed under clause (a); and
(c) the sum payable by, or the amount of refund due to, the assessee shall be determined after adjustment of the tax and interest, if any, computed under clause (b) by any tax deducted at source, any tax collected at source, any advance tax paid, any relief allowable under section 207, any self-assessment tax paid and any other amount paid otherwise than by way of tax or interest.
(2) The processing authority shall send an intimation to the assessee specifying the sum determined to be payable by, or refundable to, him and such other particulars as may be prescribed.
(3) The processing authority shall also send an intimation to the asssessee in a case where the loss declared in the return by the assessee is adjusted but no tax or interest is payable by, or refundable to, him.
(4) The processing authority shall not send any intimation in respect of any sum payable on account of any adjustment made under sub-section (1), if the return is processed after the expiry of a period of twelve months from the end of the financial year in which the return is furnished.
(5) The acknowledgement of the return shall be deemed to be the intimation in a case where no sum is payable by, or refundable to, the assessee under clause (c) of sub-section (1), and where no adjustment has been made under clause (a) of sub-section (1).
(6) The Board may, for the purposes of sub-section (1), make a scheme for centralised processing of returns for expeditious determination of the tax payable by, or the refund due to, the assessee.
(7) For the purposes of this section, "an incorrect claim apparent from the existence of any information in the return" shall mean a claim, on the basis of an entry, in the return—
(i) of an item, which is inconsistent with another entry of the same, or some other item, in such return;
(ii) in respect of which information required to be supplied to substantiate such entry has not been so furnished; or
(iii) in respect of a deduction, where such deduction exceeds the specified statutory limit which may have been expressed as monetary amount, percentage, ratio or fraction.
