Technical questions on Income Tax, GST and corporate compliance.

The Old Tax Regime allows deductions and exemptions such as Section 80C, HRA, and home loan interest, taxed at higher slab rates. The New Tax Regime is now the default and offers lower slab rates but removes most deductions and exemptions. Our Income Tax Calculator compares both regimes for Assessment Year 2026-27.

For AY 2026-27, ITR-1 and ITR-2 filers (salaried individuals, HUFs, and pensioners with no business or professional income) must file by 31 July. ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers with business or professional income who are not liable for a tax audit now have until 31 August, an extra month introduced from this assessment year. Taxpayers whose accounts require a tax audit generally have until 31 October, with the audit report itself due by 30 September. A belated return can still be filed later in the assessment year with a late fee under Section 234F and, if tax is outstanding, interest under Section 234A; certain losses can no longer be carried forward once the original due date has passed.

Not ordinarily, but filing becomes mandatory regardless of income level in specific situations under the seventh proviso to Section 139(1) — for example, depositing more than ₹1 crore in aggregate in current accounts, spending more than ₹2 lakh on foreign travel, incurring electricity expenses above ₹1 lakh in the year, or holding a foreign asset or signing authority in a foreign account. Companies and firms must file irrespective of income or loss.

ITR-1 (Sahaj) covers resident individuals with salary, one house property, and other sources of income up to the prescribed threshold, with no capital gains or foreign assets. ITR-2 applies where there are capital gains, multiple properties, or foreign assets/income. ITR-3 applies to income from business or profession computed on a regular basis, and ITR-4 (Sugam) applies to eligible taxpayers opting for the presumptive taxation scheme. Filing under the wrong form is treated as a defective return under Section 139(9).

Since the New Regime is now the default, switching back to the Old Regime typically only turns out favourable where an individual carries a home loan on a let-out property, claims a high HRA against actual metro rent, or has a large 80C/80D base already committed before the regime became default. Salaried individuals can switch each year; those with business or professional income have a more restricted, largely one-time option. Our Income Tax Calculator runs both regimes side by side for Assessment Year 2026-27 so the crossover point is visible rather than assumed.

Marginal relief caps the incremental tax and surcharge so they never exceed the incremental income that pushed a taxpayer past a surcharge slab (₹50 lakh, ₹1 crore, ₹2 crore, and so on). It is computed slab-by-slab, not just at the highest threshold, and it applies differently depending on whether the New or Old Regime is in use. Our Income Tax Calculator factors this in automatically rather than as a manual override.

Form 26AS reflects tax actually deposited against your PAN; the Annual Information Statement (AIS) is broader and includes reported financial transactions that may not yet be reconciled or may contain duplicate/incorrect third-party reporting; the Taxpayer Information Summary (TIS) is a processed, editable summary derived from AIS. Discrepancies are common and should be flagged through the AIS feedback mechanism before the return is filed, rather than filed around, since mismatches are a frequent trigger for scrutiny notices.

Holding period and asset class both determine the applicable section, tax rate, and indexation eligibility, and these rules were restructured for transfers made on or after 23 July 2024, with grandfathering provisions for certain acquisitions. Property and unlisted shares generally still permit indexation-based computation where the relevant conditions are met, while listed equity and equity-oriented funds follow a separate short-term/long-term rate structure without indexation. Given how transaction- and date-specific this is, we would review the actual computation rather than generalise it here.

Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) is a mechanism where a specified percentage of tax is deducted by the payer at the time of making certain payments, such as salary, professional fees, rent, or contractor payments, and deposited with the government on behalf of the payee. The obligation depends on the nature and amount of the payment and the applicable section of the Income Tax Act.

Yes. A late fee under Section 234E is levied for each day of delay in filing a TDS return beyond the due date, in addition to any interest payable on delayed deduction or deposit of tax.

A wrong section code does not change the substantive tax withheld, but it can cause a mismatch between the deductee's Form 26AS credit and the return filed, and may draw a query from the deductee. Correction is made by filing a correction statement (TDS return revision) against the original statement rather than by adjusting a future quarter's filing.

Interest for late deduction under Section 201(1A) runs at 1% per month (or part month) from the date the tax was deductible to the date it was actually deducted; interest for late deposit runs at 1.5% per month from the date of deduction to the date of actual payment. Because both are calculated on a part-month basis, even a one-day delay crossing a calendar month counts as a full month. Our Interest on TDS Calculator applies both legs separately rather than netting them.

Where GST is separately indicated in the invoice and the payment terms allow it to be distinguished from the taxable value, TDS under the Income Tax Act is generally deducted only on the amount excluding GST, per CBDT Circular No. 23/2017. This does not affect GST TDS under Section 51 of the CGST Act, which is a separate mechanism with its own applicability threshold for notified deductors.

Rates and threshold limits vary by section (contractor payments, professional fees, rent, commission, and others), and Section 206AA mandates a higher rate — the specified rate or 20%, whichever is higher — where the deductee has not furnished a valid PAN. Our TDS Calculator lists the applicable rates and thresholds across the commonly encountered sections.

Registration is mandatory once aggregate turnover crosses ₹40 lakh for a supplier of goods (₹20 lakh in specified special-category states) or ₹20 lakh for a supplier of services (₹10 lakh in specified special-category states). Certain categories must register irrespective of turnover, including inter-state suppliers, e-commerce operators and sellers on e-commerce platforms, casual taxable persons, and entities liable to deduct or collect tax at source.

Typically required: PAN, proof of business constitution (partnership deed, incorporation certificate, or similar), address proof for the principal place of business, bank account details, and identity/address proof of the promoters or partners. Where documents are in order, registration is usually granted within 7 working days of application, or up to 30 days where physical verification is triggered.

A GST invoice must generally include the supplier's and recipient's GSTIN (where registered), invoice number and date, description of goods or services, HSN or SAC code, taxable value, applicable GST rate, and the amount of CGST, SGST, or IGST charged, along with the place of supply. Our GST Invoice Generator creates invoices in this format.

CGST (Central GST) and SGST (State GST) are levied together on intra-state supplies, with revenue shared between the Central and State Governments. IGST (Integrated GST) is levied on inter-state supplies and imports, with the Central Government collecting and apportioning it to the destination state.

Rule 42 applies to inputs and input services used partly for exempt supplies or non-business purposes and requires a proportionate monthly reversal based on the ratio of exempt to total turnover, with an annual recalculation in September following the financial year. Rule 43 applies the same logic to capital goods over a five-year useful-life assumption. Both require maintaining turnover-linked working papers, not a one-time adjustment at year-end.

A refund under Section 54(3) for inverted duty structure is available where the input tax rate exceeds the output tax rate, computed using the prescribed formula that nets out ITC on services and capital goods, and is subject to a two-year limitation period from the relevant date. Certain notified goods are excluded from this refund route regardless of rate inversion.

Since the withdrawal of the erstwhile Rule 36(4) provisional credit cushion, ITC is generally restricted to what appears in GSTR-2B, meaning credit is effectively contingent on the supplier's compliance. Recipients bear the practical risk of a supplier's default and typically need a vendor-compliance tracking process rather than relying solely on their own return filing.

Section 12/13 of the IGST Act determines place of supply based on the recipient's location as per the contract, which is not automatically the location that raises the purchase order; for certain services (such as those relating to immovable property or specific performance-based services) location-specific rules override the default recipient-location rule. Getting this wrong results in CGST/SGST being charged where IGST was due, or vice versa, which is not simply correctable by a credit note in every case.

A Private Limited Company is a separate legal entity offering limited liability but with higher compliance requirements. An LLP also offers limited liability with comparatively lower compliance. A Proprietorship has no separate legal identity from its owner and the lowest compliance burden, but unlimited personal liability. Our Entity Structuring Matrix compares structures based on your specific operational parameters.

An LLP with turnover above ₹40 lakh or contribution above ₹25 lakh becomes subject to mandatory audit, and once external funding, ESOP structuring, or investor due diligence enters the picture, the LLP structure tends to create more friction than it saves, since equity issuance and share transfer mechanics under the LLP Act are considerably less flexible than under the Companies Act, 2013. Our Entity Structuring Matrix weighs this against your specific funding and ownership plans rather than turnover alone.

Receipt of FDI triggers a Foreign Currency-Gross Provisional Return (FC-GPR) filing with the RBI within 30 days of share allotment, in addition to sector-specific approval requirements where the investment falls outside the automatic route. Downstream, an Annual Return on Foreign Liabilities and Assets (FLA) becomes an annual compliance obligation for as long as the foreign holding remains on the books, independent of whether further inflows occur that year.

A company is generally required to file its financial statements (Form AOC-4) and annual return (Form MGT-7 or MGT-7A) with the Registrar of Companies each year, in addition to holding statutory board meetings and an Annual General Meeting as applicable under the Companies Act, 2013.

Yes, every company registered under the Companies Act, 2013, is required to have its accounts audited annually by a Chartered Accountant, regardless of turnover, unlike proprietorships and certain LLPs where audit applicability depends on turnover thresholds.

Delayed filing under the Companies Act, 2013 attracts an additional fee of ₹100 per day per form, with no upper cap, applied from the original due date until the date of actual filing — it does not compound but accrues linearly, which for a filing delayed by several months can materially exceed the notional cost of engaging a compliance professional.

CSR spending obligations under Section 135 apply where a company crosses ₹500 crore net worth, ₹1,000 crore turnover, or ₹5 crore net profit in the immediately preceding financial year. Unspent amounts not earmarked for an ongoing project must be transferred to a specified fund (such as the PM CARES Fund or Schedule VII funds) within six months of the financial year-end; amounts earmarked for an ongoing project instead go into a separate Unspent CSR Account and must be utilised within three years, failing which they are similarly transferred out.

The firm provides income tax advisory and compliance, GST compliance and advisory, ROC and corporate secretarial compliance, Virtual CFO services, global accounts outsourcing, project report preparation for loan applications, and India-entry advisory for foreign investment. Details of each service are listed on the Services page.

The firm is based in Guwahati, Assam, and serves clients across India, along with international clients through its Global Outsourcing and Invest in India advisory services.

The Virtual CFO engagement covers financial reporting, cash flow oversight, and strategic financial planning; it is typically structured alongside, not instead of, the firm's statutory compliance services (GST, income tax, ROC), so that reporting and filing stay consistent with each other. The exact scope is scoped per engagement based on the client's existing finance function.

Yes. Engagements involving a transition from an existing chartered accountant, or a limited-scope second opinion on a specific matter, are handled routinely and do not require restructuring the client's full compliance relationship upfront.

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