Company Income Tax Return for Pvt Ltd, OPC & Public Companies
Statutory Audit Coordination. Tax Audit (Form 3CA-3CD). MAT Computation. DSC-Based Filing & Verification. Starting at ₹7,999 ComplianceBharo professional fee for end-to-end assistance. Government/statutory fees are charged separately at actuals.
ITR-6 is the income tax return form prescribed by the CBDT for every company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 that is not claiming exemption under Section 11. This single form covers Private Limited Companies, Public Limited Companies, One Person Companies, Section 8 Companies that have not opted into charitable-trust exemption, Nidhi Companies, and foreign companies with income sourced in India.
It is widely regarded as the most detailed of the seven ITR forms, running to over 40 schedulesthat capture everything from the audited Profit & Loss Account and Balance Sheet to Minimum Alternate Tax computation, shareholding disclosures under Schedule SH, asset disclosures under Schedule AL, scientific research deductions under Schedule ESR, and transfer pricing secondary adjustments under Schedule TPSA. Very few of these schedules are optional in practice — a company with any meaningful scale of operations ends up populating most of them.
Verification works differently for companies than for individuals: ITR-6 must be authenticated using the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of an authorised signatory. Aadhaar OTP and the Electronic Verification Code, both common shortcuts for individual taxpayers, are simply not available here. And before a single figure can be entered into the return, two separate audits typically need to be completed — the statutory audit mandated for every company under the Companies Act, 2013, and the tax audit under Section 44AB, certified in Form 3CA-3CD, wherever the prescribed turnover or receipt thresholds are crossed.
| Parameter | Details |
|---|---|
| Governing Rule | Rule 12 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, read with Section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961, as notified annually by the CBDT |
| Applicable To | Every company registered under the Companies Act, 2013 (or its 1956 predecessor) that is not claiming exemption under Section 11 |
| Not Applicable To | Charitable/religious entities claiming Section 11 exemption (file ITR-7); LLPs, firms, and AOP/BOI (file ITR-5) |
| Verification Mode | Mandatory Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) of an authorised signatory — Aadhaar OTP and Electronic Verification Code are not valid alternatives |
| Form Complexity | One of the most detailed ITR forms, spanning 40+ schedules covering financial statements, income computation, MAT, and disclosures |
| Audit Pre-Requisites | Statutory audit under the Companies Act, 2013 and (where applicable) tax audit under Section 44AB must both be completed before filing |
| Filing Mode | 100% online through the income tax e-Filing portal, in either JSON utility or online form mode |
The test for ITR-6 eligibility is corporate status, not profitability or scale of operations. Every entity below must file it for as long as it remains an active company on the register.
| Entity Type | Filing Requirement |
|---|---|
| Private Limited Company | Must file ITR-6 every year regardless of whether it made a profit, incurred a loss, or remained inactive |
| Public Limited Company | Same filing obligation as a private company, with additional schedules where the company is listed or widely held |
| One Person Company (OPC) | A single-shareholder company remains a distinct corporate taxpayer and files ITR-6 like any other company |
| Section 8 Company (not claiming Section 11) | A non-profit company that has not registered under Section 12A/12AB to claim charitable-trust exemption is taxed as an ordinary company and files ITR-6 |
| Foreign Company with India-sourced income | Must report income accruing or arising in India, or received in India, subject to relief available under an applicable Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement |
| Nidhi Company | A mutual-benefit company recognised under Section 406 of the Companies Act, 2013, files ITR-6 in the same manner as any other company |
| Government Company | A company in which the Central or State Government holds 51% or more of the paid-up share capital continues to be assessed as a company under ITR-6 |
| Dormant / Inactive Company | Even a company holding "dormant" status under Section 455 of the Companies Act, or one with no transactions during the year, must file a nil ITR-6 return — incorporation itself creates the filing obligation |
The form is organised into a general Part A, a computation-driven Part B, and a long tail of schedules grouped broadly into five categories.
| Category | Key Schedules |
|---|---|
| Financial Statements | Schedule Manufacturing Account, Schedule Trading Account, Schedule Profit & Loss, Schedule Balance Sheet |
| Income Computation | Schedule BP (Business/Profession), Schedule CG (Capital Gains), Schedule OS (Other Sources), Schedule HP (House Property) |
| Loss & Deduction | Schedule CYLA (Current Year Loss Adjustment), Schedule BFLA (Brought Forward Loss Adjustment), Schedule VI-A (Chapter VI-A Deductions) |
| MAT & Tax Computation | Schedule MAT (Minimum Alternate Tax under Section 115JB), Schedule MATC (MAT Credit under Section 115JAA) |
| Disclosure Schedules | Schedule SH (Shareholding Pattern), Schedule AL (Assets & Liabilities), Schedule ESR (Scientific Research Expenditure), Schedule TPSA (Transfer Pricing Secondary Adjustment) |
Companies choose between the standard slab-based regime and two concessional flat-rate regimes, each carrying its own trade-offs.
| Category | Nominal Rate | Effective Rate* | Key Conditions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic Company — turnover up to ₹400 crore (in the prescribed base year) | 25% | 26.00% – 29.12% | Standard regime; the full range of exemptions, incentives and deductions under the Act remains available |
| Domestic Company — turnover above ₹400 crore | 30% | 31.20% – 34.94% | Standard regime; same exemptions and deductions as above, taxed at the higher slab rate |
| Section 115BAA — Concessional Regime | 22% | 25.17% (flat) | Open to any domestic company irrespective of turnover, provided it forgoes specified exemptions, incentives and additional depreciation; election made in Form 10-IC is irrevocable once exercised |
| Section 115BAB — New Manufacturing Companies | 15% | 17.16% (flat) | Domestic manufacturing company set up and registered on or after 1 October 2019 and commencing production within the prescribed timeline; election made in Form 10-ID is irrevocable |
| Foreign Company | 35% | 36.40% – 38.22% | Applies to income accruing or arising in India; surcharge and cess apply on slab; relief may be available under an applicable tax treaty |
*Effective rate includes applicable surcharge (nil up to ₹1 crore of total income, an intermediate slab between ₹1-10 crore, and the highest slab above ₹10 crore for domestic companies; a similar two-tier structure for foreign companies) plus a 4% Health & Education Cess on the resulting tax and surcharge.
Close the books for the financial year and finalise the Profit & Loss Account, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement in the format prescribed under Schedule III of the Companies Act, 2013.
The company's statutory auditor examines the finalised financial statements and issues an audit opinion as required under Section 143 of the Companies Act, 2013 — a mandatory step for every company, irrespective of size or turnover.
Where turnover, receipts, or other thresholds under Section 44AB are crossed, a Chartered Accountant conducts a separate tax audit and certifies Form 3CA-3CD, examining the computation of income under the Income-tax Act specifically.
Adjust the audited book profit for items treated differently under tax law — depreciation, disallowances, exempt income, and Chapter VI-A deductions — to arrive at the total income chargeable to tax.
Access the company's account on the income tax e-Filing portal using its registered credentials and select ITR-6 for the relevant assessment year.
Populate every applicable schedule — financial statements, income computation, MAT, and disclosure schedules — and authenticate the return using the Digital Signature Certificate of an authorised signatory, since DSC is the only valid verification mode for companies.
Once the DSC-based verification is successfully completed, the return is submitted and an ITR-V acknowledgement is generated instantly — no separate physical or electronic verification step is needed for companies.
Because ITR-6 draws directly from audited financials, most of the document checklist is generated as a by-product of the audit process itself.
MAT exists to stop companies with genuinely healthy accounting profits from reducing their tax outgo to near zero purely through exemptions and deductions. Under Section 115JB, whenever the tax a company owes under the normal provisions works out to less than 15% of its book profit, the company must instead pay tax at 15% of that book profit.
Book profit is not simply the net profit shown in the audited Profit & Loss Account — it is arrived at by starting with that figure and applying a specific set of additions and deductions listed in Explanation 1 to Section 115JB. Additions typically include the income tax provision already debited, unascertained liabilities and provisions, and certain capital expenditure charged to the P&L, while deductions include brought-forward business loss or unabsorbed depreciation (whichever is lower, as per the books) and specified categories of exempt income.
Where MAT paid in a year exceeds the tax that would otherwise have been due under normal provisions, the excess becomes MAT credit under Section 115JAA. This credit can be carried forward for up to 15 assessment years and set off in any future year where normal tax exceeds the MAT liability for that year — effectively smoothing out the impact of a high-book-profit, low-taxable-income year. Companies that have opted into the concessional regimes under Section 115BAA or Section 115BAB are carved out of MAT altogether under Section 115JB(5A) — the provision simply does not apply to them, in either direction.
| Parameter | Normal Tax | MAT (Section 115JB) |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Base | Total Income computed under the normal provisions of the Income-tax Act, 1961 | Book Profit computed under Explanation 1 to Section 115JB, starting from net profit in the audited P&L account |
| Applicable Rate | Slab / concessional rate depending on the regime chosen (30%, 25%, 22% or 15%, plus surcharge and cess) | Flat 15% of book profit, plus applicable surcharge and cess |
| When It Governs | Always forms the base computation for every company | Applies only when tax computed under the normal provisions is less than 15% of book profit |
| Exemptions & Deductions | Full range of Chapter VI-A deductions and other incentives available under the standard or concessional regime chosen | Book profit is adjusted only for the specific additions and deductions listed in Explanation 1 — most regular tax deductions are added back |
| Credit for Excess Tax Paid | Not applicable | Excess MAT paid over normal tax becomes MAT credit under Section 115JAA, carried forward for 15 assessment years and set off in years when normal tax exceeds MAT |
| Applicability to 115BAA/115BAB Companies | Governs the tax liability directly | Not applicable — companies that have opted for Section 115BAA or 115BAB are fully exempt from MAT under Section 115JB(5A) |
Requires an unlisted company to disclose its complete shareholding pattern as on the last day of the financial year — the number and class of shares and the percentage holding of every shareholder — along with any changes in shareholding during the year, mirroring the disclosures already made to the Registrar of Companies.
Where a company's total income exceeds ₹50 lakh in a year, this schedule requires it to report the cost of specified assets — immovable property, jewellery, vehicles, and financial assets such as shares and deposits — and the corresponding liabilities as on 31 March, with a narrower disclosure format available for companies meeting certain concessional criteria.
Captures deductions claimed under Section 35 for capital and revenue expenditure on in-house or sponsored scientific research, including weighted deductions available for contributions made to approved research associations, universities, or notified research programs.
Applies under Section 92CE where a primary transfer pricing adjustment has already been made — through an Advance Pricing Agreement, a Mutual Agreement Procedure resolution, or an accepted audit adjustment — and the resulting excess money has not been repatriated to India within the prescribed period, requiring notional interest income to be imputed on the unrepatriated balance.
Schedule CYLA sets off current-year losses under one head of income against current-year income under another head, following the ordering rules in the Income-tax Act. Schedule BFLA then applies brought-forward losses and unabsorbed depreciation from earlier years against whatever income remains after the current-year set-off.
Consolidates the narrower set of Chapter VI-A deductions available to companies — largely profit-linked deductions such as Sections 80-IA/80-IB/80-IC for specified undertakings, Section 80JJAA for additional employee cost, Section 80G for donations, and Section 80LA for units in an IFSC.
Computes depreciation allowable under Section 32 and the Income-tax Rules on a block-of-assets basis, applying the prescribed rates to the written-down value. Because tax depreciation methods differ from the book depreciation charged in the audited financial statements, the two figures rarely match.
Consolidates every tax deduction and collection at source reported against the company's PAN, matched line by line with Form 26AS and the Annual Information Statement. Mismatches in this schedule are among the most common triggers for a routine income tax notice.
Note that the tax audit report deadline (30 September) falls a full month ahead of the ITR-6 due date (31 October) — the audit has to close before the return can even be started in earnest.
| Compliance Requirement | Applicable Date / Rate | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Tax Audit Report (Form 3CA-3CD) | 30 September of the assessment year | Must be finalised a full month ahead of the ITR due date; delay can attract a penalty under Section 271B of 0.5% of turnover, up to ₹1,50,000 |
| ITR-6 Filing — companies liable to audit | 31 October of the assessment year | The standard due date applicable to the large majority of companies, since virtually every company crosses the Section 44AB audit threshold or requires a statutory audit under the Companies Act |
| ITR-6 Filing — cases involving transfer pricing (Form 3CEB) | 30 November of the assessment year | Extended due date available where the company has entered into international transactions or specified domestic transactions requiring a Form 3CEB accountant's report |
| Late Filing Fee — Section 234F | ₹5,000 (₹1,000 where total income does not exceed ₹5 lakh) | Levied automatically where the return is filed after the due date but before 31 December of the assessment year |
| Interest for Late Filing — Section 234A | 1% per month or part thereof | Charged on unpaid tax from the original due date until the date the return is actually filed |
| Interest for Advance Tax Shortfall — Section 234B | 1% per month or part thereof | Applies where advance tax paid during the year is less than 90% of the company's assessed tax liability |
| Interest for Deferred Instalments — Section 234C | 1% per month for each deferred or short instalment | Applies where any of the four quarterly advance tax instalments is paid short of the prescribed percentage |
| Prosecution for Wilful Non-Filing — Section 276CC | Rigorous imprisonment from 3 months up to 7 years, plus fine | Applies to wilful failure to file the return, with the higher end of imprisonment reserved for cases where the tax sought to be evaded exceeds ₹25 lakh |
Filing within the due date sidesteps the late fee under Section 234F, the compounding monthly interest under Sections 234A/234B/234C, and — in serious cases of wilful default — the risk of prosecution under Section 276CC.
Business losses and capital losses can only be carried forward to future years if the return is filed by the original due date under Section 139(1); missing the deadline generally forfeits this right, though unabsorbed depreciation remains an exception.
Banks and NBFCs routinely ask for the last 2-3 years of filed ITRs and audited financials while evaluating loan and credit-limit applications — a consistent filing record strengthens the company's case.
Returns filed early in the filing window are typically processed and refunded sooner, since they enter the queue ahead of the pre-deadline rush that the tax department handles every year.
Public sector undertakings and government departments commonly require recent, timely-filed ITRs as part of the financial eligibility criteria for tender participation and empanelment.
Figures reported in ITR-6 are increasingly cross-verified against MCA filings such as AOC-4 and MGT-7; keeping both sets of filings aligned and on schedule reduces the chance of a reconciliation-triggered notice.
Have questions about ITR-6 filing for your company? Let our experts help you figure out the right compliance plan.
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