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Income-tax Act, 2025 | Section 63

Section 63 - Tax audit

Tax audit applies when turnover, gross receipts or specified presumptive conditions cross the statutory tests. Rule 47 prescribes the audit report and forms.

Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Updated 9 October 2026

Section 63: operativeEffective 1 April 2026Tax Year 2026-27 onwardReviewed 8 October 2026
Current-law control

Section 63 is presented using the consolidated Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. The general commencement date is 1 April 2026. Earlier years and saved proceedings may remain governed by the Income-tax Act, 1961 and the repeal/savings framework.

2-minute professional decode

Tax audit applies when turnover, gross receipts or specified presumptive conditions cross the statutory tests. Rule 47 prescribes the audit report and forms.

Professional checkpoint: Turnover definition, digital-receipt thresholds and presumptive opt-out history can change audit exposure.

Who should test this section?

Section 63 should be tested by businesses, professionals, non-residents and advisers whenever the computation touches tax audit; the special rule must be checked before the ordinary business-profit machinery is applied.

Evidence to retain

For section 63, retain the contracts, ledgers, invoices, banking evidence, prescribed reports and computation papers that specifically prove the factual trigger and quantum for tax audit.

1961 Act bridge

Legacy provisionLegacy headingMapping
44ABAudit of accounts by certain persons carrying on profession or business.Renumbered / mapped

The bridge is a research aid. Legacy case law carries over only after the current wording and transition rules are matched.

Rules and forms linked to this section

RuleOperational roleMapped form(s)
Rule 47Report of audit of accounts to be furnished under section 63Form 26
Rule 54Form of report of an accountant in respect of slump saleForm 28
Rule 66Audit report for profit-linked deductions Form 32Form 10; Form 32

Worked application

A business has turnover above Rs. 1 crore but both cash receipts and cash payments are within the 5% tests. Check whether the Rs. 10 crore threshold applies and calculate the audit-report deadline as one month before the section 263(1) return due date.

Common mistake

A recurring section 63 error is to carry the book or ordinary tax treatment into tax audit without first testing the provision-specific override, eligibility conditions and linked Rule/Form requirements.

Compliance approach

Identify the statutory trigger for section 63, lock the relevant tax year, reconcile the facts to the operative sub-section, preserve the evidence trail and separately test every linked Rule, Form, Schedule and exception before finalising the return position.

Numeric / timing checkpoints in the operative text

Related provisions

Current statutory text

63. (1) Every person, carrying on the business or profession fulfilling any of the conditions specified in column B of the Table below, shall get his accounts of the tax year audited by an accountant, before the specified date. TABLE Sl. Conditions for getting books of account audited No. A B 1. Every person— (a) carrying on business shall, if his total sales, turnover or gross receipts, as the case may be, in business exceed or exceeds one crore rupees in any tax year, subject to the provisions of clause (b); (b) in case of a person whose— (i) aggregate of all amounts received including amount received for sales, turnover or gross receipts during the tax year, in cash, does not exceed 5% of the said amount; and (ii) aggregate of all payments made including amount incurred for expenditure, in cash, during the tax year does not exceed 5% of the said payment, clause (a) shall have effect as if for the words “one crore rupees”, the words “ten crore rupees” had been substituted; (c) carrying on profession shall, if his gross receipts in profession exceed fifty lakh rupees in any tax year. Sl. Conditions for getting books of account audited No. A B 2. If the person is carrying on business or profession, referred to in section 58(2) or 61(2) (Table: Sl. Nos. 4 and 5) and the profits and gains from such business or profession are claimed to be lower than the deemed profits as referred to in the said sections. (2) The provisions of this section shall not apply where profits and gains of business or profession, declared by the assessee are as per section 58(2) or 61(2). (3) The assessee shall furnish by the specified date, the report of such audit in such form, duly signed and verified by the accountant and setting forth such particulars, as may be prescribed. (4) Where a person is required, by or under any other law, to get his accounts audited, then it shall be sufficient compliance of this section, if such person— (a) gets the accounts of such business or profession audited under such law before the specified date; and (b) furnishes by that specified date the report of such audit along with the report of the accountant in the form as may be prescribed. (5) For the purposes of this section,— (a) “specified date” in relation to the accounts of the assessee of the tax year, means the date one month prior to the due date for furnishing the return of income under section 263(1); (b) the payment or receipt, as the case may be, by a cheque drawn on a bank or by a bank draft, which is not account payee, shall be deemed to be the payment or receipt, as the case may be, in cash.

Primary-source trail

Source status: full Section 63 statutory text in the local source corpus; reconciled to the current consolidated Act control on 8 October 2026.

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