Audited, Therefore Later
A company files ITR-6, unless it claims exemption for income from property held for charitable or religious purposes, in which case ITR-7 applies. Because a company’s accounts are audited, its return follows the audit, and its due date is the audit due date rather than the ordinary individual one. For AY 2026-27 that date was 31 October 2026, which CBDT Circular 07/2026 extended to 21 November 2026.
The sequence
Finalise the accounts under the Companies Act
Statutory audit completed
Tax audit under Section 44AB where applicable, with the report in Form 3CA or 3CB with 3CD
Upload the tax audit report, which must precede the return
File ITR-6
E-verify
The tax audit report has its own earlier deadline. For AY 2026-27 sources report it as 30 September 2026, extended to 21 October 2026 by the same circular.
That extension is a one-off for AY 2026-27. Do not treat 21 November as the new baseline.
Which rate
A company’s rate depends on the regime it is in, and the concessional regimes are elections, not defaults.
• The ordinary rate, with turnover-linked variation
• The concessional rate under Section 115BAA, at a base of 22 per cent, giving an effective rate of roughly 25 per cent with surcharge and cess, in exchange for giving up specified deductions
• A lower concessional rate for certain new manufacturing companies
The election is generally irrevocable once made. It is not a year-by-year choice, and it should be modelled before it is made rather than discovered at filing.
See our article on private limited company versus LLP for the comparison, and note the common error there: the turnover-linked base rate is 25 per cent, and the 22 per cent rate comes from opting into 115BAA.
Verify current rates and thresholds before publishing figures.
Documents
• Audited financial statements, with the auditor’s report
• Tax audit report in Form 3CD, where applicable
• Trial balance and ledgers
• Form 26AS and the AIS
• TDS returns filed and TDS certificates
• Advance tax challans
• GST returns, reconciled to turnover
• Details of related party transactions
• Depreciation schedule under the Income Tax Act, which differs from the Companies Act schedule
• Carried forward losses and unabsorbed depreciation
• Transfer pricing documentation, where applicable
The reconciliations that decide the return
Book profit to taxable income. Disallowances, depreciation differences, and items taxable in a different year.
GST turnover to income tax turnover. Compared as standard. Differences are legitimate but must be explainable.
TDS deducted and deposited, against Form 26AS, both as deductor and deductee.
Advance tax paid against the final liability, because the interest consequence of under-payment is computed automatically.
What companies get wrong
Missing the audit report deadline, which pushes the whole sequence.
Treating 115BAA as automatic.
Depreciation computed only under the Companies Act.
Related party transactions not disclosed consistently with the Companies Act position.
Advance tax under-paid, generating interest that nobody budgeted for.
How Northrop LLP helps
Northrop LLP runs the audit and return sequence together, models the rate election before it is made, reconciles GST and income tax turnover, and files ITR-6 within the deadline.