[FAQs] Due Date & Process to file Tax Audit Report | A.Y. 2022-23

For the Assessment Year 2022-23, the due date for furnishing of tax audit report would be as under:

The Chartered Accountant shall file the audit report electronically directly at https://www.incometax.gov.in. However, to furnish the report, the assessee has to authorise and appoint the Chartered Accountant from his e-filing account.

The date of approval of the report by the taxpayer is considered the date of filing of the Audit Report. If the assessee does not accept/approve, the tax audit report will be considered pending as if it has not been filed.

A Chartered Accountant in practice can conduct 60 tax audits relating to an assessment year.

The ICAI had clarified that an audit prescribed under any statute which requires the assessee to furnish an audit report in the form as prescribed under Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act shall not be considered for reckoning the specified number of tax audit assignments if the turnover of the auditee is below the turnover limit specified in Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act. The ICAI modified the guidelines on 23-08-2018 to provide that the audits conducted under Sections 44AD, 44ADA, and 44AE (Presumptive Taxation Schemes) shall not be considered for reckoning the ‘specified number of tax audit assignments.

As per Chapter VI of Council General Guidelines, 2008 (Tax Audit Assignments under Section 44AB of the Income Tax Act, 1961), a chartered accountant in practice shall not accept more than the specified number of tax audit assignments in a financial year.

As per the guidelines, if there are 10 partners in a firm of Chartered Accountants in practice, then all the partners of the firm can collectively sign 600 tax audit reports. This maximum limit of 600 tax audit assignments may be distributed between the partners in any manner whatsoever. For instance, 1 partner can individually sign 600 tax audit reports. However, the remaining 9 partners are not eligible to sign any tax audit report.

Chartered Accountants with a full-time Certificate of Practice can register on UDIN Portal www.udin.icai.org and generate UDIN by registering the certificates attested/certified by them. UDIN is an 18-digit system-generated unique number for every document certified/attested by practicing Chartered Accountants. UDIN has been made mandatory on all Corporate/ Non-Corporate Audit, Attest, and Assurance Functions.

While issuing the tax audit report under section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961, the auditor should generate an appropriate UDIN, and the same is also required to be updated at the e-filing portal. The Chartered Accountant has to generate and update the UDIN within 60 calendar days from the date of form submission on the income tax e-filing portal. If not updated within the 60 days, the department will treat such audit report/certificate as invalid submission.

‘Guidance Note on Tax Audit under Section 44AB’ issued by the ICAI provides that the audit report under section 44AB should not normally be revised. However, sometimes a member may be required to revise his tax audit report on grounds such as:

1. Revision of accounts of a company after its adoption in the annual general meeting.
2. Change of law, e.g., retrospective amendment.
3. Change in interpretation, e.g., CBDT Circular, Judgments, etc.

Thus, a tax audit report, once filed, can be revised on the grounds mentioned above.

Further, the CBDT has notified¹ that if there is a payment by a person after furnishing of original report which necessitates a recalculation of disallowance under Section 40 or Section 43B, a revised audit report can be obtained from an accountant and furnished before the end of the relevant assessment year for which the report pertains,

Thus, after issuing the audit report, but before the due date for filing the return, the assessee may make payment of TDS or of tax, duty, cess, fee, or other payments referred to in Section 43B, and file the revised audit report.

As per Section 271B, if any person fails to get his accounts audited or fails to furnish the report of the audit, the Assessing Officer may direct such person to pay a penalty of a sum equal to lower of following:

1. 5% of the total sale, turnover, or gross receipts; or
2. 1,50,000

However, no penalty shall be imposed if such failure is due to a reasonable cause.

The Guidance Note on Tax Audit issued by the ICAI clarifies that the responsibility of the tax auditor will depend on the facts and circumstances of the case. Normally, it is the professional duty of the Chartered Accountant to ensure that the audit accepted by him is completed before the due date. If there is any unreasonable delay on his part, he is answerable to the Institute if a complaint is made by the client. However, if the delay in the completion of the audit is attributable to the client, the tax auditor cannot be held responsible. It is, therefore, necessary that no Chartered Accountant should accept audit assignments that he cannot complete within the prescribed time frame.