Income Tax Notice and Intimation PDF Password: How to Open It

The password format

PAN in lowercase + date of birth (or date of incorporation or formation for other taxpayers) in DDMMYYYY format, with no spaces.

The date is the one recorded against your PAN, which you can check in your e-filing profile.

Which documents use this password

• Intimation after processing of your return (Section 270(1), Income-tax Act, 2025; earlier Section 143(1))
• Many notices and orders sent by email from the department
• The Annual Information Statement (AIS) PDF downloaded from the compliance portal

Form 26AS downloaded from TRACES uses a different format: only your date of birth in DDMMYYYY.

If the password does not work

1. 1

   Use lowercase for the PAN.

   • "ABCPE1234F05031985" will fail; "abcpe1234f05031985" works.
2. 2

   Check the date format.

   • Two digits for day and month, four for the year. 5 March 1985 is 05031985, not 5031985.
3. 3

   Check the date on your PAN record

   • If your date of birth was corrected, the password uses the date currently in the department's records.
4. 4

   Download it again from the portal

   • Log in to the e-filing portal and open the notice under Pending Actions → e-Proceedings, or the intimation under e-File → Income Tax Returns → View Filed Returns. You can read it there after logging in.

After you open it

An intimation tells you whether your return was accepted as filed, whether a refund is due, or whether there is a demand. A notice asks you to do something by a date. Read the due date first, then compare the figures with your AIS and Form 26AS.

If you handle intimations and notices for many PANs, opening each PDF and noting its due date by hand is where deadlines get missed. NoticeCPC, Figment's notice management software, keeps every Income Tax, TDS and GST notice in one list with its due date, owner and a notice alert.