How to Locate your IT Ward No./ Circle/ Range/ AO Code online

Who is A.O.? What is his role in the tax return?

A.O. stands for Assessing Officer. The A.O. is the income tax officer who has the jurisdiction i.e. authority to make tax decisions/assessment for the assessee. In simple words he is the person who has the control of the ward under which you come, has the power to ask for any information/details regarding the return filed by you.

What is the meaning of "Income Tax Jurisdiction i.e. Tax Ward / Circle / Range"?

Whenever any income tax return is taken up for scrutiny, an information notice is sent to the taxpayer by his A.O. .There are thousands of A.O’s. who sit across the country. Each A.O. is assigned specified categories of persons based on their geographical area and income range. In order to find out which A.O. has the authority to take up your matter, you need to know your A.O. address called your A.O. jurisdiction i.e. his Income Tax Ward/ Circle/Range.

This brings us to another question.

On what basis the AO jurisdiction are alloted by the tax department?

AO Jurisdiction Number is a combination of Area Code(City), AO Type(Ward[W]/Circle[C]), Range Code(Income) and AO Number.

It is allotted based on the residential/official address as the case maybe. The AO jurisdiction may change as per the policy of the income tax department.

How can I know my Tax Ward / Circle / Range?

There are 2 ways through which you can know your, A.O. code also known as your PAN jurisdiction i.e by Login to your Income Tax Account or without login directly on the incometaxindiaefiling website.

• Visit Visit https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home and on the bottom-left side, you will find “Know Your PAN | TAN | A.O”. From this, select option A.O. to know your jurisdiction A.O.
• You’ll be directed to a page “Know Your Jurisdictional A.O”. Simply type your PAN, Mobile No and click on Submit. After this, you’ll receive an One Time Password on your registered mobile number, using that you can easily check your Income Tax Ward/ Circle and AO code.

• Visit https://www.incometaxindiaefiling.gov.in/home and log-in to your account using your User ID(PAN no) and password.
• Select Profile Settings>My Profile>PAN Details.On the same page, you’ll find heading Jurisdiction Details, from there you can see your Income Tax Ward/ Circle.

Can I change my A.O. jurisdiction and how to do it?

Many taxpayers want to change their A.O. becoz of two main reasons - they have shifted to a new location and now wants their tax matters to be handled in that area or secondly they are unsatisfied by the existing A.O. Under both the circumstances there is provision to change the A.O. Details.

Change of A.O. Jurisdiction in case of change of Address : You need to apply for change of address in PAN Card on the NSDL website.Post application you need to write a letter to your current A.O. to transfer your case/assessment records to relevant A.O. having jurisdiction on your new location.

Change of A.O. Jurisdiction in case of Grievance : For this you need to write a complaint application to the Ombudsman. Practically, this option is rarely used by the tax-payer.

Once your A.O. jurisdiction is changed, you will be updated by correspondence from the department on your registered email id. You can further check it using the “Know your AO” option on the income tax website as explained above.

It goes without saying that knowing details about your Income Tax Ward/ Circle is helpful for you in the long run. Though it is optional to provide details about your ITO Ward/ Circle while filing the returns but it is considered as a positive tax compliance. Incase you need any help with your assessment you could simply connect with File My Tax online and we will do all the work you.