Three statements describe the same taxpayer, and they are not meant to agree. Form 26AS, the Annual Information Statement and the Taxpayer Information Summary each hold a different thing, and reconciling them starts with knowing which of them is even supposed to match the books.
What each one is
Form 26AS. Prescribed under section 285BB read with rule 114-I. From assessment year 2023-24 onwards, the department's FAQs say it displays only TDS and TCS related data. It is the narrowest of the three, and it is the one a deductor's filing drives.
AIS. The Handbook describes the format in two parts. Part A is identity: PAN, Aadhaar number, name, date of birth or incorporation, mobile number, email address and address. Part B carries seven heads: information relating to tax deducted or collected at source; specified financial transactions; payment of taxes; demand and refund; pending proceedings; completed proceedings; and any other information under rule 114-I(2).
TIS. Not a statement of transactions at all. It is an information category wise aggregated summary — salary, interest, dividend and the rest — and it is the one that feeds prefilling of the return.
The three values, and why only one of them matters at filing
The Handbook defines them precisely, and the distinction is the whole reconciliation:
- Reported value — the value as reported by an information source.
- Processed value — the value generated after deduplication of information based on pre-defined rules.
- Derived value — the value after considering the taxpayer's feedback and the processed value. "The derived information will be used for prefilling of Return."
So a figure can be wrong in AIS and right in TIS, or right in both and still wrong in the return. The number that reaches the return is the derived value, and the only way to move it is feedback.
The deduplication rule that explains most "double counting"
This one sentence from the Handbook resolves a large share of the mismatches people escalate:
Where similar information is reported under different information types — for example reporting of interest or dividend in SFT and in TDS — the information with the lower value is marked as "Information is duplicate / included in other information" using automated rules.
The same dividend is reported twice, by the company in its TDS statement and by the registrar in the SFT. AIS shows both. TIS shows one. A reconciliation run against AIS totals will over-state income by exactly the duplicated amount, and the file will chase a difference the system has already resolved.
Where mismatches actually come from
Grouped by what has to be done about each.
The information is right and the books are wrong. Income credited to the client that never reached the ledgers. This is the expensive category, because the department already holds the information — it does not have to discover anything. It is also the direction a one-way reconciliation misses, which is the subject of Form 26AS and AIS against the books.
The information is duplicated. Reported under two types, as above. TIS resolves it; AIS does not.
The information belongs to someone else. The Handbook notes that information is generally displayed against the reported PAN holder, with display logic for property, bank accounts and demat accounts aimed at showing it to the relevant holders. Joint holdings are the usual cause — a jointly held deposit reported in full against one holder.
The period is different. The books run to the financial year; a source may report on its own cycle, and an accrual in the books can meet a payment in the statement.
The value is right but the attribute is wrong. The department's feedback option "Information is not fully correct" exists for exactly this: it lets the taxpayer modify key attributes — the account number or account type in an interest entry, for instance — as well as the value.
The amount is gross and the books are net. Or the reverse. The statement reports what the payer declared; the ledger may carry it after a deduction.
The transaction is not taxable in the way it looks. A capital receipt, an exempt sum, a transfer that is not in the nature of a sale.
The source is simply wrong. A deductor quoting the wrong PAN or the wrong amount. This is the one that cannot be fixed by the taxpayer alone.
The six responses, in the department's words
The Handbook lists exactly six:
- Information is correct
- Information is not fully correct
- Information relates to other PAN/Year
- Information is duplicate / included in other information
- Information is denied
- Customized Feedback
Two working notes. The value after feedback is shown separately in AIS, alongside the reported value, so the trail of what was challenged stays visible. And the department's FAQs describe an AIS Consolidated Feedback File, which collects all feedback other than "Information is correct" into a single PDF — the document to keep on file, because it is the record of every position taken.
What feedback does and does not do
It changes the derived value, and therefore prefilling. It does not change the reported value, and it does not by itself correct the source's filing. The department's process sends feedback to the source for confirmation; where the source confirms the original, the taxpayer is left with a position to defend rather than a correction to rely on.
Which is why the file should carry the reason, not just the response. "Information is duplicate" with no note of what it duplicates is an assertion. With the other entry's transaction sequence number beside it, it is a reconciliation.
A working order
- Start from TIS, category by category, because that is what prefills the return.
- Reconcile the books to TIS, not to AIS, and use AIS only to explain a difference.
- For anything unexplained, open the AIS entry and read its information source before deciding it is wrong.
- Give feedback with a reason recorded in the file, and keep the Consolidated Feedback File with the return.
- Expect Form 26AS to cover TDS and TCS only, and stop reconciling it to anything else.
Questions this answers
What is the difference between AIS and TIS?
AIS shows the information itself in two parts — identity in Part A and seven heads of information in Part B. TIS is an information category wise aggregated summary showing the processed value and the derived value, and the derived value is used for prefilling the return.
What do reported value, processed value and derived value mean?
Reported value is the value as reported by an information source. Processed value is the value generated after deduplication based on pre-defined rules. Derived value is the value after considering the taxpayer's feedback and the processed value.
Why does the same income appear twice in AIS?
Because it was reported under two information types, such as interest or dividend reported in both SFT and TDS. The Handbook says the information with the lower value is marked as duplicate or included in other information by automated rules, so TIS shows it once.
What feedback can a taxpayer give on an AIS entry?
Information is correct; Information is not fully correct; Information relates to other PAN/Year; Information is duplicate / included in other information; Information is denied; and Customized Feedback.
Does Form 26AS still show high value transactions?
The department's FAQs state that from assessment year 2023-24 onwards Form 26AS displays only TDS and TCS related data, with the wider information shown in AIS.