Section 172 - Report from an accountant to be furnished by persons entering into international transaction or specified domestic transaction
Form 48 is a transaction inventory and professional report. It must reconcile to the transfer-pricing study, ledger, financial statements, tax return and related-party disclosures.
Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Updated 9 October 2026
Current law and effective date
Section 172 is controlled against the consolidated Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. The Act and Income-tax Rules, 2026 operate from 1 April 2026; earlier years and saved proceedings require the repeal-and-savings framework rather than automatic migration.
Primary statute: Income Tax Department consolidated Act | Rules: Notified Income-tax Rules, 2026
2-minute decode
Form 48 is a transaction inventory and professional report. It must reconcile to the transfer-pricing study, ledger, financial statements, tax return and related-party disclosures.
Who should use this section
Every person required to obtain and furnish the prescribed accountant report for international or specified domestic transactions.
Old-law bridge
section 92E
The old-law bridge is navigational, not automatic precedent transfer. Match the 1961 Act wording, saved proceedings, current 2025 Act text and effective date before importing an older interpretation.
Finance Act 2026 / current-law note
No section-specific Finance Act, 2026 textual substitution is separately flagged for section 172; the consolidated post-Finance-Act-2026 text remains the controlling version and must be used instead of pre-1 April 2026 extracts.
Professional alert
Application caution A transaction omitted from Form 48 may still be examined by the TPO and may create separate reporting and penalty exposure.
Connected Income-tax Rules, 2026 and Forms
Worked application
A guarantee recorded only in board minutes but omitted from the transfer-pricing transaction register can cause Form 48 and the local file to diverge.
Evidence / compliance checklist
- Form 48 workpapers (section 172 evidence control 1).
- ledger-to-form reconciliation (section 172 evidence control 2).
- accountant engagement file (section 172 evidence control 3).
- management representation (section 172 evidence control 4).
Common mistake
A common section 172 error is to apply the old-law label or headline rate without rebuilding the current statutory conditions. For “Accountant report”, the safer control is to test the exact taxpayer/transaction facts, the operative tax year, every linked Rule/Form and the Finance Act 2026 consolidated wording. Application caution A transaction omitted from Form 48 may still be examined by the TPO and may create separate reporting and penalty exposure.
Recommended approach
For section 172, start with the legal trigger in “Accountant report”, document the evidence for that trigger, then run the computation or procedural step against the current text. As a cross-check, verify this provision-specific checkpoint: Accountant report is furnished by the specified date; operationally this is tied to the statutory reporting calendar and Rule 85 / Form 48.
Thresholds, periods and timing checkpoints
- Accountant report is furnished by the specified date; operationally this is tied to the statutory reporting calendar and Rule 85 / Form 48.
Related provisions and interaction map
Section 172 forms part of the sections 161-173 transfer-pricing code; apply Rules 77-124 only as relevant and cross-check sections 263, 286/296 plus treaty / PE provisions for this section.
Provision summary - verify verbatim text in the official Act
Text-status note: This guide does not reproduce the complete verbatim provision for section 172. Use the linked official consolidated Act before quoting sub-section language or preparing a filing, opinion or litigation document.
Primary-source trail
Statute: Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by Finance Act, 2026
Rules: Income-tax Rules, 2026
Law navigation: Income Tax Department 2025 Act / Rules hub
Quoting note: Use the official consolidated Act for verbatim legislative language.
FAQs
Does an old Income-tax Act, 1961 case automatically decide section 172?
No. The old-law bridge helps research, but transferability depends on materially matching language, transition rules and any Finance Act 2026 change.
Which text should be quoted in advice or litigation?
Quote the consolidated official statute for the relevant tax year. If this page presents a provision summary rather than complete statutory text, use the official consolidated Act for verbatim legislative language.