Income-tax Rules, 2026 | Rule 172 of 333

Rule 172 - Procedure for determining audit or inventory-valuation expenses

Reviewed by CA Nikhil Gupta · Last reviewed 29 August 2026

Local extract available Legacy mapping: 14B

172Rule number

1447Local text characters

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Primary authority: Notification No. 22/2026 / G.S.R. 198(E)

Currentness control: Base Rules effective 1 April 2026. Check later amendments, corrigenda and portal implementation before action.

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Rule text held in the production corpus

Audit/valuation expense determination procedure. 172. (1) Every Chief Commissioner of Income-tax shall, for the purposes of section 268(5)(i) and (ii), maintain a panel of accountants (out of the persons referred to in section 515(3)(b)) and cost accountants (out of the persons referred to in section 268(13)). (2) Where the Assessing Officer directs audit under section 268(5)(i) or inventory valuation under section 268(5)(ii), the expenses of, and incidental to, the audit or inventory valuation (including remuneration of the accountant or cost accountant and any qualified, semi-qualified or other assistants engaged by such accountant or cost accountant) shall not be less than Rs. 3,750 and not more than Rs. 7,500 (both inclusive) for every hour of the period specified by the Assessing Officer under section 268(8), (9) or (10), as the case may be. (3) The period referred to in sub-rule (2) shall be specified in terms of the number of hours required for completing the report. (4) The accountant or cost accountant referred to in section 268(5)(i) or (ii) shall maintain a time-sheet and submit it to the Chief Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax, along with the bill. (5) The Chief Commissioner of Income-tax or Commissioner of Income-tax shall ensure that the number of hours claimed for billing purposes is commensurate with the size and quality of the report submitted by the accountant or cost accountant.

Local extract SHA-256: 0b46b6b5313d96be33cb05293fa1962f9325ede352046f1f7adeed8dcd3024ab. This hash authenticates the local extract only; it does not certify that every amendment, table or Gazette footnote has been consolidated.

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Official starting point: www.incometaxindia.gov.in

Page source links

Notification No. 22/2026 / G.S.R. 198(E)