Section 287 Income Tax Act 2025: How Can You Rectify a Mistake in an Income Tax Order?

Section 287 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 allows specified income-tax authorities to correct a mistake apparent from the record in an order or eligible intimation. It establishes who may seek rectification, when an amendment is permitted and the applicable time limits.

Current law: The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026, subject to its commencement provisions. Section 287 is the rectification provision under the new Act. For proceedings governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961, the corresponding provision is Section 154, subject to applicable transitional provisions.

What is rectification of a mistake under Section 287?

Rectification is a limited statutory remedy to correct an obvious error demonstrable from the existing record. It is not ordinarily a substitute for an appeal or an opportunity to reopen a debatable issue requiring extensive investigation or fresh adjudication.

Under Section 287(1), an income-tax authority referred to in Section 236 may amend an order passed by it under the Act, an intimation or deemed intimation under Section 270(1), or an intimation under Section 399, for correcting a mistake apparent from the record.

Section 287 explained: Subsections (1) to (9)

Section 287(1): Orders and intimations that may be corrected

The competent income-tax authority may rectify a mistake apparent from the record in its order, an eligible assessment intimation under Section 270(1), or an intimation under Section 399. The nature of the document and the authority that issued it must be identified first.

Section 287(2): Matters decided in appeal or revision

Where an order or intimation has been the subject of appeal or revision, rectification may address matters other than those considered and decided in that appeal or revision. The same decided issue cannot simply be reargued through rectification.

Section 287(3): Who can initiate rectification?

The authority may act on its own motion. It must rectify a qualifying apparent mistake brought to its notice by the assessee, deductor or collector. Where the authority concerned is the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or Commissioner (Appeals), the Assessing Officer may also bring the mistake to its notice.

Section 287(4): Notice and opportunity of hearing

Before an amendment that increases an assessment, reduces a refund or otherwise increases liability, the authority must give the affected assessee, deductor or collector notice of the proposed amendment and a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Section 287(5): Written order

Where a rectification amendment is made, the income-tax authority must pass an order in writing.

Section 287(6): Refund following rectification

If rectification reduces the assessment or otherwise reduces liability, the Assessing Officer must make the refund that becomes due to the assessee, deductor or collector.

Section 287(7): Demand following rectification

If the amendment increases an assessment, reduces a refund already made or otherwise increases liability, the Assessing Officer must serve a prescribed notice specifying the amount payable. That notice is deemed issued under Section 289.

Section 287(8): Four-year outer limitation

Except as provided in Section 288, no amendment under Section 287 may be made after four years from the end of the financial year in which the relevant order or intimation was passed.

Section 287(9): Six-month disposal requirement

Subject to the four-year limit in subsection (8), the income-tax authority must pass an order making the amendment or refusing the claim within six months from the end of the month in which it receives the rectification application from the assessee, deductor or collector.

What is the time limit for income tax rectification?

Two separate deadlines apply: The four-year limit governs the making of a rectification amendment, subject to Section 288. The six-month period governs disposal of an application, expressly subject to that four-year limit.

Requirement	Statutory period
Making an amendment	Four years from the end of the financial year in which the order or intimation was passed, except Section 288
Disposal of application	Six months from the end of the month of receipt, subject to the four-year limit

Illustration: If an order was passed on 15 July 2026, the financial year ends on 31 March 2027. Ordinarily, the four-year rectification deadline would be 31 March 2031, subject to Section 288 and the facts of the case.

Relevant statutory terms and definitions

Mistake apparent from the record: An evident error identifiable from the record, such as a clear arithmetical mistake. Section 287 uses this expression without setting out a standalone exhaustive definition; its scope is informed by judicial interpretation.

Income-tax authority: The authority referred to in Section 236, read with the relevant powers and jurisdiction under the Act.

Assessee: A person falling within the statutory definition in Section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, including a person by whom tax or another sum is payable under the Act, as applicable.

Deductor and collector: Persons responsible for deduction or collection of tax under the relevant provisions of the Act.

Intimation: A statutory communication issued on processing or determination under a specified provision, including the intimations referred to in Sections 270(1) and 399.

How should a taxpayer seek rectification?

Identify the order or intimation and the specific error apparent from its record.
Check whether the issue was already considered and decided in appeal or revision.
Calculate the four-year statutory outer limit from the financial year of the order or intimation.
Submit the rectification request to the competent authority through the applicable prescribed electronic or other procedure, attaching relevant record-based supporting material.
Track the acknowledgment and the six-month disposal period, while keeping in mind the overriding statutory outer limit.
Review the resulting written order, refund or demand notice, and consider the appropriate appeal or other remedy if the issue remains disputed.

Practical illustrations

Example 1: Clear arithmetic error

An order adds two figures incorrectly although both figures are undisputed in the existing record. Such an evident arithmetic mistake may be suitable for Section 287 rectification.

Example 2: A disputed legal interpretation

A taxpayer wants the authority to reconsider a complex legal position that reasonably admits competing interpretations. Rectification is generally not the appropriate substitute for appellate adjudication of such a dispute.

Example 3: Reduction of a refund

Before an amendment reduces a refund or increases liability, Section 287(4) requires notice and a reasonable opportunity of being heard. A resulting demand is dealt with under Section 287(7), read with Section 289.

Frequently asked questions

Can an income tax order be corrected without filing an appeal?

Yes. Section 287 permits correction of a mistake apparent from the record, subject to its statutory conditions and limits. A disputed question requiring detailed adjudication may instead require an appeal or another remedy.

Can the tax department rectify an order on its own?

Yes. Section 287(3)(a) permits the competent authority to act on its own motion.

Is a hearing compulsory before increasing tax liability?

Yes. Section 287(4) requires notice of the proposed amendment and a reasonable opportunity of being heard before an adverse rectification of the specified kind.

How long does the department have to decide an application?

Under Section 287(9), the authority must make or refuse the amendment within six months from the end of the month of receipt, subject to the four-year outer limit under Section 287(8).

What is the equivalent provision under the Income-tax Act, 1961?

Section 154 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 broadly corresponds to Section 287 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Official legislation and resources

Income-tax Act 2025 - Official PDF Official Section Mapping Income Tax e-Filing Portal

Last reviewed: 11 November 2026. This article is general legal information; verify the applicable law, procedure and facts before taking action.