Overview
Income tax in India is administered by the Income Tax Department under the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). From 1 April 2026 the Income-tax Act, 2025 has replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961. Under the new Act's repeal and savings provision (section 536), proceedings for tax years that began before 1 April 2026 generally continue under the 1961 Act.
The firm assists individuals, Hindu undivided families, firms, LLPs, companies and trusts with compliance, advice on specific transactions, and representation in assessment and appellate proceedings.
When it is typically needed
- Filing a return, or planning the tax position for the year ahead
- Receiving a notice — for scrutiny, reassessment, a demand or a mismatch in tax credits
- Disagreeing with an assessment order and considering an appeal
- Facing penalty proceedings, or a search or survey
- Planning a significant transaction such as a sale of property, shares or a business
- Reconciling TDS (tax deducted at source) credits with the tax department's records
Scope of work
Tax advisory and compliance review
- Income tax return filing and tax planning
- TDS compliance, and PAN and TAN registrations
- Tax audit advisory
- Transaction-level tax opinions
Assessment proceedings
- Scrutiny assessments
- Reassessment proceedings
- Representation during assessment
- Documentation support
Notice and rectification matters
- Replies to notices
- Rectification applications
- Demand correction
- Resolution of tax credit mismatches
Appeals and revisions
- Appeals before the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or Commissioner (Appeals)
- Revision petitions
- Representation before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT)
- Stay of demand matters
Penalty and investigation support
- Penalty proceedings
- Search and survey support
- Litigation strategy
Information and deliverables
What to have ready if you have received a notice
- The complete notice, including its date, reference number and the response deadline stated in it
- The return and computation for the year concerned
- Earlier correspondence and orders relating to the same year
- Supporting documents for the items the notice refers to
Terms explained
For readers less familiar with Indian tax and regulatory terminology.
- PAN
- Permanent Account Number — the ten-character taxpayer identifier issued by the Income Tax Department.
- TAN
- Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number — required by persons who deduct or collect tax at source.
- TDS
- Tax Deducted at Source — tax withheld by the payer at the time of certain payments and credited against the recipient's liability.
- Tax year
- Under section 3 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the twelve-month financial year beginning on 1 April (or a shorter period for a newly set-up business). It replaces the separate 'previous year' and 'assessment year' of the 1961 Act.
- Reassessment
- Proceedings to assess income that the department believes has escaped assessment for an earlier year, subject to statutory conditions and time limits.
- ITAT
- Income Tax Appellate Tribunal — the second-level appellate authority, which hears appeals against orders of the first appellate authorities (the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and Commissioner (Appeals)) and certain other orders.
Common questions
Can the firm represent a taxpayer before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal?
Chartered Accountants are among the persons who may appear as authorised representatives before income-tax authorities and the Tribunal, subject to the conditions in the law. Whether the firm takes up a particular matter is decided after reviewing it.
What should I do first when I receive an income tax notice?
Note the response deadline stated in the notice, check that it carries a valid document identification number, and collect the return and records for the year it relates to. Avoid filing a reply that has not been checked against those records.
Scope and limitations
- No particular outcome of an assessment, appeal or other proceeding can be assured. Outcomes depend on the facts, the evidence, the law and the decision of the authority concerned.
- Tax planning is undertaken within the law; the firm does not advise on arrangements intended to evade tax.