New guidelines for mandatory DIN in Income Tax Communications
“CBDT Issues New Guidelines for Mandatory DIN in Income Tax Communications”
In exercise of the powers granted to the Central Board of Direct Taxes under Income-tax Act, 1961, particularly section 119, and considering section 292B and the newly inserted section 292BA, as well as section 522 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 introduced through the Finance Act, 2026, the Board has prescribed revised guidelines regarding the use of Document Identification Number (DIN) in communications issued by income-tax authorities.
With the issuance of this circular, Circular No. 19/2019 dated 14 August 2019 relating to DIN shall no longer remain applicable.
1. Mandatory Use of DIN
Any official communication issued by an income-tax authority to a person (other than officers or authorities under the Income-tax Act or any other law) must include a computer-generated Document Identification Number (DIN). Such communications may include:
- Notices
- Letters
- Orders or draft orders
- Summons
- Any similar correspondence
2. Method of Referencing DIN
The following principles shall apply:
(a) Every communication must clearly mention the DIN.
(b) The DIN may be referenced within the document itself or through a separate sheet attached to the communication, including email communications.
(c) Where DIN is used, each page of the communication must display the DIN.
(d) Public communications such as general notices, informational releases, or responses to frequently asked questions are not required to contain DIN.
3. Exceptional Situations
In certain limited circumstances, a communication may be issued without DIN. Illustrative situations include:
- Technical problems preventing generation of DIN in the system.
- Situations where an income-tax authority must communicate urgently while outside the office and electronic access is unavailable.
- Delays relating to PAN migration or jurisdictional issues.
- Cases where the PAN of the assessee is not available.
- Instances where the required system functionality is temporarily unavailable.
4. Requirement of Post-Facto Approval
If a communication is issued without DIN under exceptional circumstances:
- The document must clearly mention that it has been issued without DIN due to exceptional circumstances.
- Post-facto approval must be obtained from the competent authority within 15 days of issuing the communication.
- The issuing officer must record the reasons for the exception in writing.
5. Competent Authority for Approval
For the purpose of granting post-facto approval:
- If the communication is issued by an officer below the rank of Joint Commissioner/Joint Director, the approval must be given by the Joint Commissioner / Joint Director / Additional Commissioner / Additional Director of Income-tax.
- In all other cases, approval shall be granted by the Chief Commissioner or Director General of Income-tax.
6. Uploading on the System
Communications issued without DIN in the situations mentioned above must be uploaded on the departmental system within 15 working days, along with the appropriate DIN reference generated subsequently.
Also Read: “CBDT Notifies New Forms PAN CR-01 & PAN CR-02 for PAN Correction from 1 April 2026”
Also Read: FAQs and Guidance notes on Forms under Income-tax Rules, 2026
Read More: Union Budget 2026 – CA Cult
