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An advance tax instalment has left the bank account but does not appear in the tax credit statement.
Check the CIN on the challan status service, then compare PAN, year and tax type on the challan with what was intended.
A register listing each instalment with due date, amount, bank debit date, CIN, year and tax type.
Every instalment either visible in the credit statement or under a dated correction request.
If you paid advance tax and the challan is not showing in your tax credit statement, the payment has usually not been lost. The bank has to report each challan to the tax system before it appears, so the common causes are timing, a wrong PAN, the wrong year, the wrong tax type, or a mistyped detail. Start with the challan’s CIN and work down the list below.
What are the usual reasons a paid challan goes missing?
| Likely cause | How to spot it | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Not yet updated | Bank debit is only a few days old | Wait a week, then recheck |
| Wrong PAN | Challan receipt shows a different PAN | Request challan correction |
| Wrong year | Receipt shows AY 2025-26 instead of AY 2026-27, or similar | Request correction of the year |
| Wrong tax type | Minor head shows self-assessment instead of advance tax | Request correction of the minor head |
| Bank-side delay | Bank debit exists but CIN does not return a result | Raise it with the bank branch |
| Paid but not credited | CIN shows the challan, but your statement does not | Check year and PAN again, then raise a grievance |
On Challan 280, the minor head for advance tax is 100 and for self-assessment tax is 300. A wrong tick here is one of the most common reasons for a “missing” payment, because the money sits in the right PAN but under the wrong type.
How do I check the challan status?
- Find the CIN on the challan receipt. It is made of three parts: the BSR code of the bank branch (7 digits), the date of deposit, and the challan serial number (5 digits).
- Use the challan status service on the e-filing portal and enter these details.
- Note what it returns: PAN, year, minor head and amount.
- Keep the bank debit proof (statement line with the date and amount) next to the challan.
If the status shows the challan correctly, the gap is on the credit-statement side and usually closes with time. If it shows a wrong year or type, you need a correction.
Where should advance tax show for the current year?
For periods up to 31 March 2026, advance tax shows in Form 26AS under the Income-tax Act 1961. From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act 2025 uses “tax year” in place of assessment year, and our Form 26AS and Form 168 explainer notes that Form 168 covers TDS and TCS credits. So for tax year 2026-27, check the portal’s tax credit view to see where advance tax appears, and do not assume it will sit in Form 168. Also remember that tax year 2025-26 and AY 2026-27 describe the same period, which is a frequent source of wrong-year challans.
Worked example: an instalment under the wrong year
A firm expects tax of ₹12,00,000 for FY 2025-26. The first instalment, due by 15 June, is 15% of the expected tax: 15% of ₹12,00,000 = ₹1,80,000. The accountant pays ₹1,80,000 on 15 June but selects AY 2025-26 instead of AY 2026-27.
- The CIN check shows the challan with AY 2025-26.
- In the correct year, the firm now appears to have paid nothing by 15 June.
- If left uncorrected, interest under Section 234C runs at 1% a month. On the ₹1,80,000 shortfall for 3 months, that is ₹1,80,000 × 1% × 3 = ₹5,400, and the shortfall carries into later instalments (45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December, 100% by 15 March).
- Once the year is corrected, the payment counts from 15 June and that interest falls away.
The lesson is simple: record the CIN for every instalment the day you pay, and check the year and minor head before you close the screen.
What to read next
- Next step: Advance tax reconciliation in India shows how to match each challan to the credit statement.
- Form 26AS and Form 168: what changed.
- Why am I getting interest under Section 234B and 234C.
- For teams handling many accounts, see account reconciliation software for India.
TransactIG matches bank statement lines to your books, so each challan debit is tied to its entry, with an exception queue for anything unmatched and audit-ready exports. It also reconciles TDS.