“JAGO CPC WALO!” – When the Income-Tax Department Sends Wake-Up Calls… After You’ve Already Woken Up
If taxes ever needed a sense of humour, the last two days have provided it in abundance. Thousands of taxpayers woke up to an SMS and email from the Income-tax Department that sounded less like a compliance reminder and more like a delayed alarm clock. The message, serious in tone and official in format, warned taxpayers that as per records available as on 05th December 2025, they had not filed their Income-tax Return for FY 2024-25, despite “significant financial transactions” appearing in their AIS.
Now pause here. Breathe. Sip your tea. And re-read the date.
“As on 05th December 2025.”
The twist in the tale is that for many categories of taxpayers, the due date for filing the return itself was 10th December 2025. In simple words, the system is telling people on 13th–14th December that they had not filed their return on 5th December, even though the law still gave them five more perfectly legal days to do so.
This is not tax enforcement. This is time travel.
Many taxpayers, being obedient citizens (and scared ones), actually filed their returns between 6th and 10th December. Their CA congratulated them, their acknowledgment was safely downloaded, and life moved on. Until the SMS arrived. Suddenly, WhatsApp groups lit up like Diwali lamps. Phones started ringing. Tax professionals were dragged into emergency consultations. “Sir, I got this message… Have I done something wrong?”
The answer, in most cases, was simple: “No, but the system seems to be living in the past.”
This raises a very basic and very human question. When everything is online, system-driven, AI-assisted, data-powered, and dashboard-monitored, why is the compliance message frozen at 05th December when the legally relevant date was 10th December? Ideally, any non-filer communication sent after the due date should reflect the status as on the due date or the day after, not five days before it.
Imagine a traffic policeman stopping you on 15th December and saying, “As per my records on 10th December, you had not yet reached home.” You would politely wonder whether the policeman has updated his GPS.
This is exactly how taxpayers feel today.
There is no quarrel with nudges. In fact, nudges work wonderfully. The Department’s earlier “soft compliance” campaigns have yielded impressive results. Taxpayers respond positively when the tone is polite, timely, and accurate. But a nudge based on outdated data is not a nudge; it is a panic button.
An SMS from the Income-tax Department is not like a promotional message offering 50% off on shoes. It carries authority, fear, and consequence. When such messages go to people who are already compliant, it creates unnecessary anxiety, damages trust, and overloads the system with avoidable responses on the Compliance Portal.
From a policy perspective, this is where a small systemic correction can make a big difference. If the database can track AIS transactions in real time, it can surely track ITR filing status till the actual due date. If reminders are sent, let them be sent to real non-filers, not “temporarily innocent until 10th December.”
The irony is delicious. For years, taxpayers have been told, “File on time. Don’t wait till the last date.” And now, even those who filed within the permitted time are being told, “As per our old memory, you hadn’t filed yet.”
It reminds one of the old Hindi Song “Jago Mohan Pyare…” except that this time, Mohan Pyare is wide awake, return filed, taxes paid, and acknowledgment saved in three folders.
Perhaps it is time for a new slogan: “JAGO CPC WALO!”
Wake up to real-time data. Wake up to the emotional impact of compliance messaging. Wake up to the fact that trust is built not just through strictness, but through accuracy and empathy.
A tax-friendly atmosphere is not created only by lower rates or new exemptions. It is also created by systems that speak at the right time, to the right people, with the right facts. When compliance becomes calm instead of chaotic, both taxpayers and administrators win.
If this small glitch is fixed, taxpayers will worry less, professionals will sleep better, and policymakers will have one less unintended controversy on their hands. And who knows—maybe even the Finance Minister, while scrolling through messages, will smile and say, “Yes, this is exactly the kind of reform that costs nothing but delivers goodwill.”
Until then, dear taxpayer, if you receive such a message despite having filed on time, relax. The law is on your side. And to the system that sent it—politely, humorously, and hopefully constructively—we say once again: JAGO CPC WALO!
The message send by CPC was as under:
“Attention V**** J***** K****** (PAN XXXXX4303X) As per the records available with the Income Tax Department as on 05th-Dec-2025, you have not filed the Income Tax Return for the financial year 2024-25. You may need to file ITR in view of the significant financial transactions reported in your Annual Information Statement (AIS). Please file your ITR (belated ITR) or submit response online. After logging into the e-filing portal (https://www.incometax.gov.in), please go to ”Pending Actions” tab and click on ”Compliance Portal”. On Compliance Portal, navigate to ”e-Campaign tab” and view campaign type ”Non Filers” to submit response. – Income Tax Department”
