Form 176: Accountant certificate concerning pension-fund compliance under Schedule V
Source checked 21 October 2026 · Original author: Finin2min Editorial Desk
Purpose, person and period
Accountant certificate concerning pension-fund compliance under Schedule V.
The eligible accountant furnishes Form 176 for the notified pension fund after testing the actual annual investment/income records and all applicable Schedule V conditions.
Period gate: This numbered form belongs to the Income-tax Rules, 2026, effective 1 April 2026. The predecessor 10BBC is a concordance, not permission to change an earlier-year filing into a new-law form. For earlier periods, use the applicable 1961 Act form and saved procedure.
Controlling rule and source pages
Rule 282; Section 263(1). Physical PDF pp 932-936; printed Gazette pp 2464-2468.
Rule 282 — connected rule text
282. Notification of pension fund and other conditions to be satisfied by the pension fund. — (1) The pension fund mentioned in Schedule V [Table: Sl. No. 7.Note 5(a)(iii)] to the Act shall be required to satisfy the following other conditions: — (a) it shall be regulated under the law of a foreign country including the laws made by any of its political constituents being a province, State or local body, by whatever name called, under which it is created or established, as the case may be; (b) it shall be responsible for administering or investing the assets for meeting the statutory obligations and defined contributions of one or more funds or plans established for providing retirement, social security, employment, disability, death bene fits or any similar compensation to the participants or beneficiaries of such funds or plans, as the case may be; (c) the condition in clause (b) shall be deemed to have been satisfied with respect to assets being administered or invested, if the following conditions are satisfied: — (i) value of such assets is not more than 10% of the total value of the assets administered or invested by such fund; (ii) such assets are wholly owned directly or indirectly by the Government of a foreign country; and (iii) such assets vests in the Government of such foreign country upon dissolution; (d) the earnings and assets of the pension fund are used only for meeting statutory obligations and defined contributions for participants or beneficiaries of funds or plans refer red to in clause (b) and no portion of the earnings or assets of the pension fund inures any benefit to any other private person; (e) the provisions of clause (d) shall not apply to any payment made to creditors or depositors for loan taken or borrowing for the purposes other than for making investment in India; (f) the provisions of clause (d) shall not apply to earning from the asset s referred to in clause (c), if the said earning are credited either to the account of the Government of that foreign country or to any other account designated by such Government so that no portion of the earnings inures any benefit to any private person; (g) it shall intimate the details in respect of each investment made by it in India during the quarter within one month from the end of the quarter in Form No. 175; (h) it shall file return of income on or before the due date specified under section 263 (1)(c) and furnish a compliance certificate in Form No. 176 from an accountant as defined in section 515(3)(b) along with such return; and (i) the expression loans and borrowings mentioned in this sub -rule shall have the meaning assigned to them in Schedule V [Table: Sl. No. 7.Note 5(c)] to the Act. (2) For the purposes of notification under Schedule V [Table: Sl. No. 7.Note 5(a)(iii)(D)] to the Act, the pension fund shall make an application in Form No. 174 enclosing therewith relevant documents and evid ence, to the Member, Central Board of Direct Taxes, Department of Revenue, Ministry of Finance, New Delhi having supervision and control over the work of Foreign Tax and Tax Research Division. [PDF PAGE 253] [भाग II—खण् ड 3(i)] भारतकाराजपत्र:असाधारण 1785
Completed field illustration
Fictional data, not for filing. An unsigned pension-fund accountant model reconciles the two Form 175 tranches and the assumed year’s eligible income.
| Form field / block | Completed fictional entry |
|---|---|
| Part A: fund / PAN / address / contact | Example Overseas Pension Fund / synthetic ZZZTE0000Z / 10 Example Pension Street London / pension@example.invalid |
| Part B: TY / total income / proposed exempt / opening investment | 2026-27 / Rs 8,00,000 / Rs 8,00,000 subject to actual eligibility / nil |
| Row 10: investment rows | 15 July 2026 Rs 60 lakh, interest Rs 5 lakh / 15 September Rs 40 lakh, interest Rs 3 lakh / debt code 1, interest code 1, eligible infrastructure facility code 2 |
| Closing investment / holding question | Rs 1 crore / no sale before three years assumed |
| Row 13: governing purposes / conditions | Retirement purpose code 1, pension-fund nature code 1 / no private benefit, day-to-day operation or India-investment borrowing assumed; separate segmented records assumed |
| Quarterly forms / foreign law and tax records | September-quarter Form 175 model / actual constitution and foreign-tax/exemption evidence required, not supplied |
| Certification / notification / accountant | MODEL-NOTIFICATION-175 only / no examination, membership, FRN or UDIN / NOT CERTIFIED, NOT SIGNED |
This illustrates the named fields, not every possible schedule. Use the complete official extract for additional applicable fields, annexures and verification. “Not signed” means no professional certification or authority action has occurred.
Reconcile the example
- 60 + 40 lakh = 100 lakh investments; 5 + 3 lakh = 8 lakh income.
The Rs 8 lakh figure is an assumed income allocation, not an annualised interest-rate calculation. A real accountant must test every condition, investee minimum investments where relevant, holding period, borrowing, benefit and actual notification before certifying any exemption.
Prepare, furnish and retain
- Use the form identity and period above, then determine the person who prepares, issues or verifies it from Rule 282. An authority-issued order is not an applicant filing.
- Collect the records that support the actual fields in the example; keep any mandatory schedules and annexures specified in the complete source form.
- Reconcile dates, amounts, units and identifiers to the underlying records. Preserve the applicable rule version and any later correcting notification.
- Where the rule prescribes electronic furnishing, use the current official utility/schema and authorised verification. A local PDF does not produce a portal acknowledgement.
- Retain the submitted version, supporting schedules and actual acknowledgement or issued certificate/order, as applicable. This fictional model supplies none of those evidential outcomes.
Download the correct documents
Official Form 176 source extract Filled sample — fictional field illustration
The official extract preserves source pages; later amendments are supplied with affected forms. Read the April corrigendum where its printed-page corrections apply. The filled field illustration is an educational model and cannot be filed.
Primary sources
Questions readers ask
Does this sample prove approval, filing or a professional conclusion?
No. It completes the named fields using synthetic facts. It has no real signature, DSC, approval or acknowledgement.
Can I use the legacy form number for a current tax-year obligation?
Establish the governing period first. A predecessor number is a cross-reference; earlier-year procedures and current-year forms must be kept distinct.