CSI File: Downloading the Challan Status Inquiry File

What is a CSI file for?

A CSI file is the payment side of a TDS return, supplied by the department rather than by the deductor. A quarterly return claims that certain tax was deducted and deposited. The validation utility checks those claims against what the department has actually recorded as received against the TAN, and the CSI file is how that record is brought to the utility.

The consequence is procedural rather than conceptual. A return cannot be validated, and therefore cannot be filed, until a current CSI file covering the relevant challans is in hand.

Where does the CSI file sit in the filing sequence?

The order matters, and quarter end is when it bites. Tax is deducted during the quarter and deposited with challans. The return is prepared from payroll. The CSI file is then downloaded, covering the period in which those challans were paid. Only then does validation run, and only a validated return can be filed.

Downloading the CSI file too early undoes the rest. A challan paid after the file was downloaded will not be in it, and validation will fail against a return that is otherwise correct. The file is downloaded once all the quarter's payments have actually been made.

The CSI file is downloaded after the quarter's challans have been paid and before validation runs. Downloading it earlier leaves out a challan paid afterwards, and validation then fails against a return that is otherwise correct.

What are the two boundaries on the download?

Two boundaries sit on the download, and both catch deductors out.

The filter is a payment date range, a from date and a to date, and that range cannot exceed 24 months. Filtering instead by assessment year or by type of payment is not offered for this file, which surprises deductors who expect to pull a CSI file for a quarter by naming the quarter.
The cutover is 1 July 2022. Challans for periods before that date cannot be downloaded on the e-filing portal through e-Pay Tax at all. The department routes those to the Protean portal, reached through a link at the bottom of the e-Pay Tax screen.

Payments made through the NSDL portal are not excluded from the newer file. They appear in a CSI file downloaded through e-Pay Tax, although the challan receipts for those payments are not available for download there.

Why does a CSI file go stale?

A CSI file is a snapshot of what the department had recorded at the moment it was downloaded. It does not update, and it has no bearing on whether the payment was correct, only on whether it has been recorded.

A payment that has not yet reflected against the TAN will be absent from the file even though the money has left the account, and validation will fail. The answer is to download the file again once the payment appears rather than to change the return.

How to download the CSI file

On incometax.gov.in, signed in as the employer

Log in with the TAN as user id
Log in to the e-filing portal using the TAN as the user id. Only TAN users can download a CSI file.
Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry), p. 1
Open the e-Pay Tax service
Go to e-File and then to the e-Pay Tax service.
Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry), p. 2
Open payment history
On the e-Pay Tax page, click the Payment History tab.
Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry), p. 2
Open the filter
Click the filter options.
Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry), p. 2
Set the payment date range
Select the payment date range, a from date and a to date, in the filter options. The range cannot exceed 24 months, and the download cannot be filtered by assessment year or by type of payment.
Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry), p. 3
Download the file
Once the download CSI file button is enabled, click it to download the file.
Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry), p. 3

What goes wrong

Symptom	Cause	Fix
The CSI file cannot be downloaded at all	Only TAN users can download a CSI file, using the TAN as the user id.	Log in with the TAN as the user id rather than with a PAN based login.Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry)
The download cannot be filtered to the quarter wanted	The file is filtered by payment date range only. Assessment year and type of payment are not available as filters, and the range cannot exceed 24 months.	Give a from date and a to date covering the period in which the challans were paid, within a 24 month span.Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry)
Challans before 1 July 2022 are missing	The e-filing portal does not serve CSI files for periods before 1 July 2022 through e-Pay Tax.	Use the link at the bottom of the e-Pay Tax screen, which redirects to the Protean portal, and download the earlier period there.Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry)
A challan paid on the NSDL portal is expected to be absent	Deductors assume payments made through the NSDL portal are excluded from the newer file.	No action is needed. Those challans do appear in a CSI file downloaded through e-Pay Tax, although their challan receipts cannot be downloaded there.Income Tax Department, FAQs on CSI (Challan Status Inquiry)

Steps last read from the source documents on 12 September 2026

Related terms

Challans — A challan is the instrument by which a statutory payroll deduction is paid to the authority that collects it
Challan ITNS 281 — Challan ITNS 281 is the challan a deductor uses to deposit tax deducted or collected at source and to pay a demand raised against a TDS statement
TDS Return — A TDS return is the quarterly statement a deductor files reporting the tax it deducted, the deductees it deducted from, and the challans by which the money was deposited
Form 24Q — Form 24Q is the quarterly statement an employer files reporting the tax it deducted from salaries
Conso File — A conso file is the consolidated TDS statement a deductor downloads from TRACES, carrying the return as it currently stands after any corrections already processed
TRACES Online Correction — TRACES online correction is the functionality that lets a deductor correct a TDS statement already filed, working in the browser rather than through a downloaded consolidated file
File Validation Utility (FVU) — The File Validation Utility is the program a deductor runs a prepared TDS or TCS return through to check it for format level errors
Form 27A — Form 27A is the control chart filed in paper form alongside a quarterly e-TDS or e-TCS statement
Assessment Year — The assessment year is the twelve months following the financial year, in which the income of that financial year is assessed to tax

Frequently asked questions

Who can download a CSI file?

Only TAN users, logging in to the e-filing portal with the TAN as the user id.

Can I download a CSI file for a specific assessment year?

No. The department states the file can only be filtered by the period in which challans were paid, a from date and a to date, and not by assessment year or type of payment.

How long a period can one CSI file cover?

The payment date range selected cannot exceed 24 months.

How do I get a CSI file for a period before July 2022?

Not through e-Pay Tax on the e-filing portal. Clicking the link at the bottom of the e-Pay Tax screen redirects to the Protean portal, where the earlier period can be downloaded.

Do NSDL portal payments appear in the CSI file?

Yes. Challans for payments made through the NSDL portal are available in a CSI file downloaded through e-Pay Tax, though the challan receipts for those payments are not available for download there.

Where Engage fits

The CSI file has to agree with what payroll claims it deposited. Engage carries the challan details recorded against each month into the quarterly return, so the figures being validated are the ones the payments were actually made on rather than a separate reconstruction at quarter end.

See Engage Payroll

CSI File