Client one-pager, tax audit

Tax audit — what it is and why you need it

What it is. If your business turnover crosses [Rs 1 crore, or Rs 10 crore where almost all your receipts and payments are non-cash], or your professional receipts cross [Rs 50 lakh], the Income-tax Act requires a chartered accountant to audit your accounts and file a prescribed statement of particulars about your tax position. It is separate from your company audit, it is filed on the income-tax portal, and the deadline is one month before your income-tax return is due.

What we need from you. Your audited or finalised accounts; your computation of income and tax depreciation schedule; a list of payments to micro and small suppliers with their registration certificates; details of every loan or deposit taken or repaid, with the mode; your GST returns; challans for taxes paid after the year end; and your stock records. Two items reliably take longer than clients expect: the supplier-wise split of your expenses between GST-registered and unregistered vendors, and the ageing of your micro and small enterprise payables.