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1Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitches2Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors3Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteTo download an Income Tax Department order, sign in to India’s e-Filing portal, open the relevant e-Proceeding, select the Notice/Letter PDF and choose Download. Then use the Department’s separate Authenticate Notice / Order issued by ITD service to check that the communication was issued by the Income Tax Authority.
That authentication confirms issuance for the details you enter. It does not, by itself, certify that a PDF saved on your computer has never been changed, and the Department’s published guidance does not prescribe a special archive format, storage device, hash, retention period or “certified-copy” procedure. Preserve the original download and the surrounding portal and authentication records as an orderly evidence file, while treating legal questions about a disputed order as case-specific.
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What “valid copy” means here
An Income Tax order can involve two separate questions:
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Fix the driver behind crashes, sound loss and screen glitchesFind Drivers →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →- Was the communication genuinely issued by the Income Tax Department? The Department’s authentication service is designed to answer this question for a notice, order, summons, letter or other communication.
- Has the local file remained unchanged since you downloaded it? The reviewed Department instructions do not describe the authentication service as a checksum, digital-forensics test or continuing guarantee about a separately stored file.
For practical record keeping, retain the PDF exactly as downloaded, the information identifying the proceeding, and the result of the Department’s authentication lookup. Do not describe that bundle as a government-certified copy unless another authority specifically gives it that status.
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This guide concerns orders and related communications available through the Indian Income Tax Department’s e-Filing portal and its e-Proceedings service.
What you need before downloading
Prepare the account and identifying information before opening the portal:
- A valid Income Tax e-Filing user ID and password for the taxpayer whose proceeding you need to access.
- Access to the relevant e-Proceeding. The Department describes e-Proceedings as the service for viewing and responding to notices, intimations and letters issued by the Department. See the e-Proceeding FAQ.
- The communication’s Document Identification Number (DIN), if shown, and the mobile number needed for authentication.
- If you do not have the DIN, the alternate lookup details: PAN, document type, year, issue date and mobile number.
- A secure location with enough space for the original PDF and related records.
The authentication service is available as a pre-login service to both registered and unregistered users, so the person checking genuineness does not necessarily need to sign in first. Downloading an order from a taxpayer’s e-Proceeding, however, requires the portal access described in the Department’s user manual.
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Download the order from e-Proceedings
The official route is short, but save the surrounding information as well as the PDF. The e-Proceedings User Manual identifies the Notice/Letter PDF and the Download action.
- Sign in. Open the Income Tax e-Filing portal and sign in with the taxpayer’s valid user ID and password.
- Find the proceeding. Locate the e-Proceeding that contains the order, notice, intimation or letter. Check that the taxpayer, proceeding subject and dates correspond to the matter you intend to retain.
- Open the document. Select the relevant Notice/Letter PDF within the proceeding. If more than one document is listed, identify the order by its title, issue date, DIN or other details displayed by the portal rather than downloading an unrelated attachment.
- Download the original. Choose Download and allow the portal to save the PDF. Do not edit the downloaded file before creating your preservation copy.
- Capture the context. Record the proceeding details shown by the portal, including the communication type, issue date, DIN if displayed and any response or transaction reference connected with it. The Department lists record keeping as a benefit of e-Proceedings; retaining this context helps show which document you downloaded.
- Check the file. Open the saved PDF to confirm that it is readable and complete. Make sure pages, annexures and embedded text or signatures, if present, display correctly. If the download is incomplete, return to the proceeding and download it again rather than repairing or re-saving the file in a PDF editor.
The downloaded PDF is your working record of what the portal supplied. A later printout, scan or renamed copy is not a substitute for retaining that original digital file.
Authenticate the notice or order with the Department
Use the Department’s Authenticate the Notice/Order issued by ITD service after downloading, or whenever you need to check a communication received outside the portal. The Department also publishes an authentication user manual.
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Option 1: DIN and mobile number
- Open the authentication service without signing in if you are using the pre-login route.
- Enter the DIN printed on the communication and the requested mobile number.
- Complete the OTP step described by the service.
- Review the result and save a record showing the details used and the date you checked them.
This is normally the most direct route when the PDF or paper order clearly displays its DIN.
Option 2: PAN and document details
- Choose the alternate identifying route in the authentication service.
- Enter the taxpayer’s PAN, document type, year, issue date and mobile number.
- Complete the OTP process.
- Compare the returned information with the PDF you downloaded, including the communication type and date.
Use this route when the DIN is unavailable, unreadable or not the identifier you have at hand. Enter dates and document categories exactly as requested; a mismatch can prevent the service from finding the record even when the communication is genuine.
What a matching result establishes
A matching result states that the notice, order or letter was issued by the Income Tax Authority for the details entered. Store that result with the PDF and your notes. It supports the document’s provenance, but it is not described as a technical examination of the bytes in your local file. If you later copy the PDF to another device, the authentication result does not automatically prove that every copy is identical.
Understand the DIN requirement
The Department’s FAQ says that every communication issued by the Income Tax Department on or after 1 October 2019 shall bear a unique Document Identification Number (DIN). The Department states:
“Every communication by Income Tax department issued on or after 1st October, 2019 shall bear an unique Document Identification Number(DIN).”
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The same FAQ says that, in the circumstances covered by its DIN rule, a notice, order or letter without the required DIN would be treated as invalid and “non est in law,” meaning deemed never to have been issued. That is the Department’s stated rule, not a conclusion that every communication lacking a visible DIN is automatically resolved by a general web article.
Check the issue date and the applicable Department guidance before drawing a conclusion. A document issued before 1 October 2019 is not covered by the quoted “on or after” date in the same way. For a disputed, urgent or financially consequential matter, obtain advice specific to the taxpayer’s facts and the applicable proceedings rather than relying only on a general DIN explanation.
How to preserve the download as a reliable record
The Department’s published instructions explain how to download and authenticate a communication, but they do not mandate a retention duration, file-naming convention, backup schedule, storage medium, cryptographic hash or archival format. The workflow below is therefore practical record-keeping advice, not an official technical standard.
Keep the first download untouched
Store the file produced by the portal as the original. Do not crop pages, add annotations, flatten forms, run optical-character recognition over it or resave it through a PDF editor. If you need to highlight a passage or add notes, make a separate working copy and leave the downloaded original unchanged.
Use a clear, non-destructive file name
A descriptive name makes later retrieval easier without altering the document’s content. For example, use a pattern such as YYYY-MM-DD_communication-type_DIN_original.pdf, replacing the variables with the actual date, type and DIN. Keep the portal’s original filename in a separate copy or in your record index if the download uses an informative filename. The naming pattern is your own organizational choice; it is not prescribed by the Department.
Save the surrounding evidence
Create a folder for the proceeding containing:
- The untouched downloaded PDF.
- A text or spreadsheet record of the taxpayer, proceeding, communication type, issue date and DIN.
- The authentication result, including the lookup method used, the date, and whether the result matched.
- Relevant portal records such as proceeding details and any response or transaction record you may need to show what happened after the order was issued.
- Separate working copies of annotations, translations or extracts, clearly labelled as copies.
Do not overwrite the original with a later response, appeal draft or annotated version. Keep the order and subsequent actions distinguishable.
Control access and make independent backups
Store the folder in a location protected by the taxpayer’s normal account and device security. Make at least one independent backup in a separate location, and periodically verify that the PDF opens. If you use cloud storage, retain a local copy as well; if you use removable media, protect it from loss and keep another copy elsewhere.
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These are sensible continuity measures, not a claim that a particular device, cloud provider or backup method gives the file legal status. The Department’s guidance does not designate one storage product or medium.
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Optionally record a file hash
A technically minded user may record a SHA-256 hash of the untouched PDF when it is downloaded and recalculate it later to detect accidental changes. This can help with internal file management, but the reviewed Income Tax guidance does not require a hash and does not say that matching hashes turn a local PDF into a certified copy. Treat it as an additional integrity check, not as a replacement for the Department’s issuance authentication.
Preserve the authentication trail
Save the confirmation screen or a contemporaneous note of the authentication result, the lookup route and the identifying details entered. Never store an OTP as if it were a permanent certificate; it is part of the service’s verification flow. If the service provides a downloadable or printable result, retain it with the PDF without editing the downloaded order itself.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What to do when authentication finds no record
A “no record” result does not, on its own, establish that the document is forged or that the underlying tax matter does not exist. First check for input errors:
- Confirm every digit of the DIN, if you used the DIN route.
- Check the mobile number and complete the OTP step for the same lookup.
- For the alternate route, verify the PAN, document type, year and issue date against the communication.
- Check whether you entered the issue date rather than a response date, download date or hearing date.
- Try the other official lookup route if you have the required information.
If the details are correct and the service still returns no record, retain the communication and your failed lookup note, then use the Department’s official service or contact channel for clarification. Do not alter the PDF to make it match a search result, and do not represent an unverified communication as authenticated.
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Editing the only copy
Adding comments, signatures or page numbers to the sole downloaded PDF destroys the clean original record. Work on a duplicate instead.
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Keeping only a printout or scan
A printout can be useful for reading or a meeting, but it does not preserve the original digital download. A scan of that printout is another derivative copy. Retain the portal PDF first.
Assuming authentication proves local file integrity
The service checks whether the Department issued the communication for the entered details. It is not described as a continuing technical guarantee that a file copied to a computer, phone or backup drive is unchanged.
Relying on an email attachment alone
An email may alert you to an order, but the e-Proceeding PDF and the Department’s authentication service provide the official routes described here. Where possible, obtain the document from the proceeding and retain the email separately as notification context.
Discarding the proceeding context
Keeping only a PDF with no record of which taxpayer, proceeding or authentication lookup it belongs to can create confusion later, especially when several orders have similar titles. Preserve the identifying details at the time of download.
A practical final checklist
- Sign in to the taxpayer’s e-Filing account and open the correct e-Proceeding.
- Select the relevant Notice/Letter PDF and use Download.
- Open the file once to confirm that it is complete and readable.
- Retain the untouched download as the original.
- Record the proceeding, communication type, issue date and DIN.
- Authenticate the communication using DIN plus mobile number, or PAN, document type, year, issue date and mobile number.
- Complete the OTP step and save the result and lookup date.
- Keep portal context and related response or transaction records.
- Store an independent backup and keep any annotations or extracts in separate files.
- Describe the result accurately: authentication supports issuance by the Department; it is not a Department-prescribed technical certification of every local copy.
When the issue needs professional advice
If an order lacks a DIN where the Department’s rule appears to require one, the authentication service returns no record after the details have been checked, or a deadline, demand or litigation is involved, obtain advice from a qualified tax professional or lawyer familiar with the taxpayer’s case. The Department’s general authentication result cannot determine every legal consequence of a particular notice or order, and preserving a file does not extend a response or appeal deadline.
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