High-Value Transaction in Your AIS That Is Not Yours? Feedback Action Guide

Who this guide is for

This guide is for any taxpayer in India who has logged in to the income tax portal, opened the Annual Information Statement (AIS), and found a high-value transaction that does not belong to them. It is useful if:

• You see a large deposit, fixed deposit, mutual fund purchase, share sale, or property entry that you never made.
• The amount is correct but the figure has been double-counted or reported twice by the same entity.
• The entry seems to relate to a joint holder, a family member, or someone whose PAN was confused with yours.
• The transaction is completely unknown to you and you suspect your PAN has been misused.
• You received an SMS or email nudge from the department asking you to confirm or explain a transaction in your AIS.

The AIS pulls together financial information that banks, mutual funds, registrars, employers, and other reporting entities file against your PAN. It sits alongside Form 26AS, which mainly shows tax deducted at source (TDS) and tax collected at source (TCS). A wrong entry in AIS is usually a reporting mistake at source, a PAN mix-up, or — less often — misuse of your identity. Each of those needs a slightly different fix, and this guide walks through all three.

If the problem is a broader mismatch across property, fixed deposit interest, or salary, start with our companion guide on the AIS and Form 26AS mismatch action plan.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Log in to the income tax portal at incometax.gov.in with your PAN credentials. Open the Annual Information Statement (AIS) from the Services menu. Find the exact high-value entry that is not yours. Note the information type, the amount, the period, and the name of the reporting source shown against it.

Download the AIS as a PDF and take a clear screenshot of the disputed line. The PDF is password protected — the password format is given on the portal. Save both files in a dedicated folder named for this dispute. This is your evidence baseline.

Open Form 26AS as well (also under Services). Check whether the same transaction appears there or only in AIS. Where the entry sits tells you which record needs correction, and it helps the reporting entity trace it.

Saturday

Use the AIS feedback feature against the disputed entry. The portal offers options such as "Information is not fully correct", "Information relates to other PAN/year", "Information is duplicate/included in other information", and "Information is denied". Pick the option that actually fits your situation and add a short, factual note. Do not guess — choose the closest accurate description.

After you submit, save the feedback acknowledgement or reference. The entry status usually changes to show your feedback has been recorded and may be marked for examination by the reporting source.

Now identify the reporting entity. If it is your bank, deductor, mutual fund, or registrar, draft a written correction request asking them to fix the filing at source. Feedback on the portal flags the dispute; a correction at source is what makes it stick. Pursue both together — do not rely on one alone.

Sunday

If the transaction is genuinely unknown — an account, investment, or property you never had — treat it as a possible PAN misuse case. Pull your free credit report from a credit bureau and look for loans, cards, or accounts you do not recognise. List everything suspicious in one place with dates and amounts.

Prepare your evidence folder: AIS PDF and screenshot, feedback acknowledgement, the correction letter you are about to send, bank statements, and identity documents. Index each file so you can attach them quickly if a notice arrives.

If the amounts are large, the entries are complex, or fraud is involved, book a short consultation with a chartered accountant or tax professional before you file or revise your return. Getting the framing right early saves a great deal of trouble later. For unknown loans or companies in your name, see our guide on PAN misuse showing unknown GST, company, loan, or bank account.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Open the AIS and isolate the wrong entry

Log in to the income tax portal and open the Annual Information Statement. Find the precise entry that is not yours. Read its information type, value, period, and reporting source carefully. A high-value transaction in AIS is information a reporting entity filed against your PAN; it is not a tax demand on its own. Download the AIS PDF and screenshot the line so you have a dated record before doing anything else.

Step 2 — Decide what kind of error it is

There are usually three possibilities, and your fix depends on which one applies:

• Reporting error at source: The transaction is broadly yours but the amount, period, or category is wrong, or it was reported twice. The reporting entity needs to correct its filing.
• PAN mix-up: The entry belongs to a different person — a joint holder, a relative, or a stranger whose PAN was confused with yours. It should be tagged to the correct PAN.
• Identity misuse: The account, investment, or property is completely unknown to you. This points to possible PAN or identity misuse and needs a wider check.

Be honest with yourself about which one it is. Choosing the right category now makes your feedback and follow-up far more effective.

Step 3 — Submit AIS feedback on the exact entry

In the AIS, select the disputed line and choose the feedback option that matches your situation: information is not fully correct, relates to another PAN or year, is a duplicate, or is denied. Add a brief factual note explaining why. Submit and save the acknowledgement. Your feedback is recorded against the entry and is generally forwarded to the reporting source for examination. This is the official channel to register your objection inside the system.

Step 4 — Ask the bank or deductor to correct the filing at source

Portal feedback alone may not erase a wrong entry, because the underlying data came from the reporting entity. Write to the bank, deductor, mutual fund, or registrar named as the source. State the disputed transaction clearly, attach your AIS screenshot, and ask them to correct their statement of financial transactions or TDS/TCS return so the entry is removed or re-tagged. Keep a copy of the letter and proof of delivery. For TDS-related entries that do not show correctly, see our guide on filing requests for records only where a public authority is involved.

Step 5 — Check for wider PAN misuse

If the entry is completely unknown, do not stop at the AIS. Pull your credit report and look for loans, credit cards, or accounts you never opened. Review Form 26AS for unfamiliar deductors. If you find more red flags, you may be dealing with identity misuse rather than a simple data error. In that case keep careful records and consider a cyber or police complaint in addition to the AIS feedback.

Step 6 — Report correct income in your return regardless

Do not let a wrong AIS entry distort your tax return. Report your actual income truthfully. Do not inflate your income to match a mistaken figure, and do not omit real income that happens to be missing from AIS. Keep your feedback and supporting documents ready so you can explain the difference if asked. Where the figures are large or the position is complicated, have a chartered accountant or tax professional review the return before filing. If you are unsure how to respond to any income tax communication, our guide to responding to a defective return notice shows the general approach.

Step 7 — Escalate through a grievance if it is not resolved

If the entry stays wrong after feedback and a correction request, raise a grievance on the income tax portal's grievance or e-Nivaran section. Reference your feedback acknowledgement and your correspondence with the reporting entity. Note the grievance number. For government department records and complaint tracking, the CPGRAMS and RTI guide explains how the public-grievance system works alongside RTI.

Step 8 — Be ready for a notice and seek professional help if needed

Sometimes a notice arrives even while a dispute is open. If that happens, read the deadline first, respond on the portal within the time allowed, and attach your evidence folder. Do not miss the response window. If the notice involves a demand, an adjustment, or anything beyond a plain factual correction, engage a tax professional. For demand and refund-adjustment situations, see our income tax demand notice action guide.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste correction request template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending. Address it to the bank, deductor, mutual fund, or registrar that reported the entry.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to public authorities. It is a tool to access information held by government bodies — not to force a private bank or company to change a filing. In an AIS dispute, RTI can be useful in these specific situations:

• Tracking a grievance with a government body: If you filed a grievance and a public authority has not acted, an RTI application to that authority's Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) can ask for the status and any noting on your grievance.
• Records held by a PSU bank or government deductor: Where the reporting entity is a public-sector bank or a government department, RTI can be used to seek records about how a transaction was reported against your PAN and what correction was made.
• Decisions of a public authority: If a government office passed an order or took a decision affecting you, RTI can help you obtain a copy of that decision and the reasons behind it.

To file an RTI online, see our step-by-step RTI filing guide. If your RTI is ignored or refused, our guide on filing a first appeal under RTI Section 19 explains the next step. For decisions where information was wrongly withheld, the collection of PIO and High Court rulings shows how appeals have been decided. For deeper strategy, The RTI Playbook covers using RTI in complex regulatory disputes.

When RTI will not help

RTI has clear limits in an AIS dispute:

• RTI cannot delete or correct your AIS entry: Only the reporting entity correcting its filing, plus your AIS feedback, can fix the data. RTI accesses information; it does not change records.
• Private banks and companies are outside RTI: If a private bank, mutual fund, or company filed the entry, RTI does not apply to them. Use a written correction request and the AIS feedback tool instead.
• RTI is not a fast track: The AIS feedback channel and the income tax grievance route are quicker for actually getting the entry examined and corrected than waiting on an RTI reply.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Assuming the entry means you owe tax: A high-value transaction in AIS is reported information, not a demand. Do not pay anything or panic-file because of one line. Verify first, then act.
• Only submitting portal feedback: Feedback flags the dispute, but the lasting fix usually needs the reporting entity to correct its filing at source. Pursue both at the same time.
• Inflating your income to match a wrong figure: Never report income you did not earn just to align with a mistaken AIS entry. Report your true income and keep your dispute documents.
• Ignoring a completely unknown transaction: If you truly never had that account or investment, it could be PAN misuse. Check your credit report and Form 26AS and act on what you find.
• Not saving acknowledgements: Without a dated screenshot, feedback reference, and your correction letter, you have nothing to show if a notice arrives. Build the folder before you need it.
• Missing a notice deadline: If a notice does come, the response window is firm. Respond on the portal within the time allowed and attach your evidence; do not wait for the dispute to resolve first.
• Going it alone on complex or large entries: For big amounts, capital gains, or anything involving suspected fraud, a chartered accountant or tax professional is worth the cost. Do not improvise on high-stakes positions.

If the wrong entry is a TCS amount from foreign spending or travel, see our specific guide on TCS on foreign remittance or overseas tour not showing in AIS or 26AS. To browse every citizen-action guide in this series, visit the Tax and GST practical guides hub.