Every question, answered

TaxClue is a CA, CS and legal practice that handles business compliance end to end — company and LLP incorporation, GST, income tax, TDS, ROC annual filings, accounting and payroll, trademarks and IP, licences such as FSSAI and IEC, and replies to tax notices. Everything runs online, across India.

Four steps. One — a consultation where we establish what is actually required. Two — a fixed-fee quote and a precise document checklist, so you know the cost and the paperwork before you commit. Three — we prepare, you review and approve, we file. Four — you receive the acknowledgement, certificate and a copy of everything filed. A relationship manager stays on the file throughout. Start with a consultation →

Fees are fixed and quoted before work begins — no hourly surprises. The quote separates our professional fee from government fees (MCA, GST portal, IP India, FSSAI, DGFT and so on), which are paid to the authority and shown at cost. GST applies on the professional fee. Price depends on entity type, state, turnover and how much of the groundwork already exists, so ask for a quote rather than a rate card.

No, and they are always shown separately. Statutory charges — MCA filing fees, stamp duty, trademark class fees, challans, licence fees — are remitted directly to the government on your behalf. Under our refund policy those amounts are non-refundable once paid to the authority, because they cannot be recovered from it.

Business hours are Monday to Friday 9:00 AM – 7:00 PM and Saturday 10:00 AM – 5:00 PM IST, and we aim to reply the same working day. WhatsApp is monitored outside hours for deadline-critical matters — a hearing date, a trademark objection window, a notice with a short reply period. All the ways to reach us →

If no work has started, a written request within 48 hours of payment gets a full refund of the professional fee. If the work is part-done, a proportional deduction is made for the time already spent and the balance is refunded. Once the service is delivered — filing submitted, certificate issued, consultation completed — the professional fee is not refundable. If a rejection is our error we refile at no extra professional fee. Requests must reach info@taxclue.in within 30 days of payment and approved refunds are processed in 10–15 working days to the original payment method. Full refund policy →

No. The process is paperless end to end: documents are uploaded, DSCs are issued remotely, and forms are signed with a digital signature or Aadhaar e-sign. We work with clients across 28+ states and union territories, and physical originals are only ever needed where a department specifically insists on them.

A qualified professional — a Chartered Accountant, Company Secretary or, for IP matters, a registered trademark or patent agent — reviews and signs off every filing. A relationship manager handles coordination, chases documents and keeps you posted, so you have one number to call rather than a queue.

Documents are transferred and stored over encrypted channels with access restricted to the team on your engagement. We hold ISO 27001:2022 certification for information security, and client information is covered by our confidentiality and data policies. We never file with a department using credentials you have not authorised for that filing.

Yes, and it is common. We start with a compliance review — what has been filed, what is pending, what penalties may already be running — and give you a written position before touching anything. Portal credentials, DSCs and past filings transfer across; nothing needs to be redone if it was done correctly. Try the free compliance health score for a first read.

Work backwards from three questions: do you need outside investment, do you want personal assets ring-fenced, and how much annual compliance can you carry. A proprietorship is cheapest and simplest but offers no liability protection. An LLP gives limited liability with light filings and suits professional firms and bootstrapped ventures. A private limited company is the only structure investors and most institutional buyers will fund, at the cost of heavier compliance. Side-by-side comparison →

An LLP, clearly. It files two ROC forms a year (Form 11 and Form 8), needs no board meetings, and requires a statutory audit only above ₹40 lakh turnover or ₹25 lakh contribution. A private limited company files AOC-4 and MGT-7 every year, holds four board meetings and an AGM, appoints an auditor, and is audited from the first rupee of turnover. The gap is real — but a company is what raises equity.

Yes — a One Person Company has a single member plus a nominee, and gives you a corporate entity with limited liability without a second shareholder. It must convert to a private limited company once paid-up capital exceeds ₹50 lakh or average turnover exceeds ₹2 crore. If you expect funding, most founders start as a private limited company instead. OPC vs Pvt Ltd →

There is no central registry for proprietorships — the business is you, under your PAN. What you register are the things it needs: GST if you cross the threshold or sell inter-state or on marketplaces, Udyam for MSME benefits, a shops and establishment licence in most states, and a current account (banks usually ask for two business proofs). What proprietors actually need →

Roughly 7 to 15 working days end to end when documents are clean: DSCs for the directors, a name approved through SPICe+ Part A, then the SPICe+ Part B, e-MOA, e-AOA and AGILE-PRO filing that issues the certificate of incorporation along with PAN, TAN, EPFO, ESIC and a bank account reference. Name rejections and mismatched address proofs are what stretch the timeline, so they are worth getting right first time. Incorporation, step by step →

For every director and shareholder: PAN, Aadhaar, a passport-size photo, one identity proof (passport, voter ID or driving licence) and one address proof no older than two months (bank statement or utility bill). For the registered office: a utility bill in the owner's name, plus a rent agreement and an NOC from the owner if the premises are rented. Foreign nationals need notarised and apostilled copies.

Yes. A residential address is a valid registered office. You need a recent utility bill for the premises and, if it is not in your name, a no-objection letter from the owner. What the address must be able to do is receive statutory post — MCA, GST and the Income Tax Department will use it, so a place nobody checks is a bad idea.

Yes, in most directions: proprietorship or partnership to LLP or private limited, LLP to private limited, OPC to private limited. Conversion is a formal process with asset transfer, fresh registrations, and continuity of GST and PAN handled deliberately — not a checkbox. Converting before a funding round is normal; converting mid-litigation or with unfiled returns is painful. Plan it a quarter ahead.

You need a Digital Signature Certificate for each subscriber and proposed director — it is the first step and takes a day or two with video KYC. You do not need a DIN in advance: for a new company, DINs are allotted through the SPICe+ form itself, for up to three first directors. A DIN is applied separately only when someone joins an existing company.

On turnover: ₹40 lakh for suppliers of goods and ₹20 lakh for services (₹20 lakh and ₹10 lakh in special-category states). And regardless of turnover in several cases — inter-state supply of goods, supply through an e-commerce operator that collects TCS, liability under reverse charge, casual and non-resident taxable persons, and agents supplying on behalf of others. Voluntary registration is allowed below the threshold and is often worth it for input tax credit and B2B credibility. Check your position →

The rationalisation effective 22 September 2025 collapsed the old four-slab structure into two main slabs — 5% and 18% — with a 40% rate on a short list of demerit goods, alongside nil-rated and exempt supplies. Special rates survive: gold and silver stay at 3%, cut and polished diamonds at 1.5%. Your specific HSN or SAC decides the rate. Current rate tables →

About 7 working days after a complete application, or 3 working days where Aadhaar authentication succeeds. You get an ARN immediately on submission and can track it on the portal under Services → Registration → Track Application Status. Physical verification of premises, or a query raised by the officer, extends the clock until you respond.

A regular taxpayer files GSTR-1 (outward supplies) by the 11th of the following month, or the 13th after quarter-end under QRMP, and GSTR-3B (summary and payment) by the 20th — the 22nd or 24th for QRMP filers depending on state. Composition dealers file CMP-08 quarterly by the 18th and GSTR-4 annually. The annual GSTR-9 is due by 31 December, with the reconciliation statement GSTR-9C above ₹5 crore turnover. Full due-date calendar →

Yes. A nil return is still a return, and the late fee runs whether or not you traded — ₹20 per day for a nil filing and ₹50 per day otherwise, subject to caps, plus 18% interest on any unpaid tax. Non-filing also blocks the next period's return and can trigger cancellation. Separately, returns can no longer be filed once three years have passed from their original due date, so old gaps must be closed while the window is open.

No. Four conditions must all hold: you have a tax invoice, you have received the goods or services, your supplier has actually declared the invoice so it appears in your GSTR-2B, and the tax has reached the government. Section 17(5) then blocks specific credits outright — most motor vehicles, food and beverages, club memberships, works contracts for immovable property. Credit for a financial year must be claimed by 30 November of the following year. Reconciling GSTR-2B before filing is the single habit that prevents notices.

It is available up to ₹1.5 crore turnover for goods (₹75 lakh in some states) and ₹50 lakh for services, at 1% for traders and manufacturers, 5% for restaurants and 6% for other service providers. The trade-off is severe: no input tax credit, no inter-state outward supply, no supply through e-commerce operators, and your buyers get no credit either. It suits B2C businesses with local customers, not B2B suppliers. Composition scheme in detail →

Yes. GST is state-specific: every state or union territory where you have a place of business and make taxable supplies needs its own registration and its own GSTIN, all linked to the same PAN, with returns filed state-wise. A warehouse, branch office or job-work premises in another state usually creates that obligation — an occasional delivery into the state does not.

E-invoicing applies to B2B supplies once aggregate annual turnover crosses ₹5 crore in any financial year since 2017-18 — and once you are in, you stay in even if turnover later falls. Invoices must be reported to an Invoice Registration Portal to get an IRN and signed QR code; an unreported invoice is not a valid tax invoice, and your customer's credit is at risk. Larger taxpayers also face a strict reporting window after the invoice date.

File Form REG-16 with the reason and the date of closure, clear all pending returns and any liability on stock in hand, then file the final return GSTR-10 within three months of cancellation. If the department cancelled your registration for non-filing, apply for revocation in REG-21 after filing the missing returns. Simply abandoning a GSTIN does not end the liability — the late fees keep accruing. Cancellation and revocation →

If your gross total income before deductions exceeds the basic exemption limit, yes. Filing is also compulsory regardless of income if you hold foreign assets or signing authority abroad, deposited ₹1 crore or more in current accounts, spent ₹2 lakh on foreign travel or ₹1 lakh on electricity, or had TDS and TCS of ₹25,000 or more (₹50,000 for senior citizens). Filing to claim a refund of TDS already deducted is voluntary but usually worth it.

For individuals and entities not subject to audit, 31 July following the end of the financial year — so 31 July 2026 for FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27). Audit cases are due 31 October, and transfer-pricing cases 30 November, with the audit report itself a month earlier. The CBDT extends these dates from time to time, so confirm before relying on one. Current ITR due dates →

Yes. A belated return can be filed until 31 December of the assessment year with a late fee of ₹5,000 (₹1,000 if total income is up to ₹5 lakh), plus interest under sections 234A, 234B and 234C on unpaid tax. After that window closes, an updated return (ITR-U) is available for up to 48 months from the end of the assessment year, with additional tax of 25% to 70% depending on how late you are — and it cannot be used to claim a refund or increase a loss.

The new regime is the default and wins for most people: nil tax up to ₹12 lakh of taxable income through the section 87A rebate, and ₹12.75 lakh for salaried taxpayers after the ₹75,000 standard deduction. The old regime only overtakes it when your deductions — 80C, HRA, home-loan interest, 80D — are large, typically above about ₹3.75–4 lakh. Salaried taxpayers may switch each year; taxpayers with business income get one opt-out and one return, via Form 10-IEA. Run both side by side →

For ordinary income under the new regime, effectively yes — the tax computed on up to ₹12 lakh is wiped out by the section 87A rebate of ₹60,000, and salaried taxpayers reach ₹12.75 lakh after the standard deduction. Two caveats: the rebate is for resident individuals only, and income taxed at special rates — capital gains, lottery winnings — is outside it, so a ₹12 lakh income that includes capital gains still attracts tax on that portion.

ITR-1 for resident salaried individuals with income up to ₹50 lakh and one house property; ITR-2 when there are capital gains, more than one house property, foreign income or assets; ITR-3 for business or professional income including F&O trading; ITR-4 for presumptive income under 44AD, 44ADA or 44AE; ITR-5 for firms and LLPs, ITR-6 for companies and ITR-7 for trusts. Filing the wrong form gets the return treated as defective under section 139(9). Pick your form →

Form 26AS shows tax credited against your PAN — TDS, TCS, advance tax and self-assessment tax. The Annual Information Statement goes much wider: interest, dividends, securities transactions, property deals and other reported transactions. The department matches your return against both, and the vast majority of automated notices are simple mismatches. Reconcile before you file, and use the AIS feedback facility to flag anything reported wrongly. AIS vs 26AS →

Under section 44AB, when business turnover exceeds ₹1 crore — raised to ₹10 crore where both cash receipts and cash payments are 5% or less of the total, which most digital businesses satisfy. For professionals the limit is ₹50 lakh of gross receipts. An audit is also triggered when you declare profits below the presumptive rate after having opted into it, and your income exceeds the exemption limit. Tax audit explained →

Section 44AD lets an eligible resident business declare 8% of turnover as income — 6% on digital receipts — up to ₹2 crore turnover, extended to ₹3 crore where cash receipts are 5% or less. Section 44ADA does the same for specified professionals at 50% of gross receipts up to ₹50 lakh, extended to ₹75 lakh on the same cash condition. No books, no audit — but opt out and you are locked out of 44AD for five years.

If your total tax liability after TDS is ₹10,000 or more in a year, it must be paid in four instalments — 15% by 15 June, 45% by 15 September, 75% by 15 December and 100% by 15 March, each figure cumulative. Shortfalls attract 1% a month under sections 234B and 234C. Taxpayers under presumptive taxation pay the whole amount in one instalment by 15 March. Advance tax calculator and dates →

Property held over 24 months is a long-term asset, taxed at 12.5% without indexation. For property acquired before 23 July 2024, a resident individual or HUF may instead compute tax at 20% with indexation and pay whichever is lower. Short-term gains are taxed at your slab rate. Exemptions are available under section 54 (reinvest in a house), 54F (any asset into a house) and 54EC (bonds up to ₹50 lakh within six months). Property capital gains →

Anyone required to deduct tax at source needs a TAN, obtained in Form 49B — a company or LLP effectively needs one from day one. Individuals and HUFs deduct only if they were subject to tax audit in the preceding year, with the exception of specific provisions such as TDS on rent and on property purchase, which apply to everyone. Deduct at payment or credit, whichever is earlier.

The ones most businesses meet: professional and technical fees under 194J at 10% beyond ₹50,000 a year; contractor payments under 194C at 1% for individuals and HUFs and 2% otherwise, beyond ₹30,000 per contract or ₹1 lakh a year; rent under 194-I at 2% for plant and machinery and 10% for land and buildings beyond ₹50,000 a month; commission under 194H at 2%; and, since April 2025, payments by a firm or LLP to its partners under 194T at 10%. Full rate chart →

Deposit by the 7th of the following month, except March, which is due by 30 April. Quarterly returns — 24Q for salary, 26Q for other resident payments, 27Q for non-residents — are due on 31 July, 31 October, 31 January and 31 May. Form 16 goes to employees by 15 June and Form 16A within fifteen days of the return. Late filing costs ₹200 a day under section 234E until the return is filed.

It escalates quickly. Interest runs at 1% a month from the date the tax was deductible to the date it was deducted, and 1.5% a month from deduction until deposit. Thirty per cent of the expense is disallowed under section 40(a)(ia), so you pay tax on it as well. Penalty under section 271C can equal the tax not deducted, and prolonged default in depositing tax that was actually deducted can attract prosecution.

Section 206AA applies when the deductee does not furnish a valid PAN — the rate becomes the higher of the normal rate, the rate in force, or 20%. The separate higher-rate regime for non-filers under sections 206AB and 206CCA was withdrawn with effect from 1 April 2025, so a PAN-verified vendor no longer needs a filing-status check. Always validate the PAN against the name before paying.

Under section 192 there is no threshold and no fixed rate: you estimate the employee's annual income, apply the slab rates of the regime the employee has declared, and deduct one-twelfth of the resulting tax each month, adjusting as the year progresses. Collect the regime declaration in April and proofs in Form 12BB before the year ends — if no declaration is given, the new regime applies as default.

EPF registration becomes mandatory at 20 employees and ESI at 10 or 20 depending on the state, covering employees earning up to ₹21,000 a month; both are deposited by the 15th of the following month. Professional tax is state-specific. Gratuity applies at 10 employees, payable after five years of service. Add TDS on salary, Form 16 by 15 June, and a shops and establishment registration. Payroll, handled →

Hold the AGM by 30 September, then file AOC-4 with the financial statements within 30 days of it and MGT-7 or MGT-7A (annual return) within 60 days. Add ADT-1 for auditor appointment, DIR-3 KYC for every director by 30 June once every three financial years, DPT-3 by 30 June, MSME-1 twice a year where payments to MSME vendors are overdue, four board meetings, statutory registers, and the income tax return by 31 October. The complete calendar →

Two forms. Form 11, the annual return, by 30 May; Form 8, the statement of accounts and solvency, by 30 October. The income tax return is due 31 July, or 31 October if audited. An LLP needs a statutory audit only if turnover exceeds ₹40 lakh or partner contribution exceeds ₹25 lakh. LLP annual filing →

For companies, an additional fee of ₹100 per day per form, running without a ceiling — a form forgotten for two years costs more than most annual compliance packages. LLP forms carry ₹100 a day as well, with higher multiples for larger LLPs. Beyond money, directors of a company that fails to file financial statements or annual returns for three consecutive years are disqualified for five years under section 164(2).

Yes. ROC and income tax filings are triggered by the entity existing, not by it trading — a nil AOC-4, MGT-7 and ITR are all still due, and the per-day penalty applies exactly the same. If the entity is genuinely dormant, either apply for dormant status under section 455 or strike it off; leaving it unfiled is the one option that costs money every day.

An annual identity confirmation by every person holding a DIN, due by 30 September. If nothing has changed since last year you file the web version in a minute; if a mobile number, email or address has changed, the full eForm is required. Miss it and the DIN is deactivated — every form it signs is blocked — with a flat ₹5,000 fee to reactivate. DIR-3 KYC →

A company applies for strike-off in Form STK-2, which requires no outstanding liabilities, bank accounts closed, and all overdue returns filed up to date first. An LLP uses Form 24, with a similar clean-up. Both need a board or partner resolution, an affidavit and an indemnity. Closing properly costs less than one year of accumulated late fees on a forgotten entity.

Yes — a company is audited from its first year regardless of turnover, by an auditor appointed in ADT-1 within 30 days of incorporation for the first auditor. That is separate from a tax audit under section 44AB, which is turnover-driven. LLPs and firms are outside the company audit requirement and follow their own thresholds. Statutory audit →

A private limited company holds at least four board meetings a year with no more than 120 days between two, with seven days' notice (shorter with consent), and keeps signed minutes. Statutory registers — members, directors, charges, related-party contracts — must be maintained at the registered office. These are the records inspectors and due-diligence teams ask for first, and reconstructing them years later is expensive.

It is free, Aadhaar-based and takes minutes, and it unlocks disproportionate benefits: the 45-day payment protection against buyers, collateral-free credit under CGTMSE, priority-sector lending, interest subvention, protection in government tenders, and lower fees on trademark and patent filings. There is very little reason for an eligible business not to hold one. Register for Udyam →

Section 43B(h) of the Income Tax Act allows a deduction for amounts payable to a registered micro or small enterprise only in the year the payment is actually made, if it is paid beyond the agreed period — capped at 45 days — or 15 days where there is no written agreement. Pay a small vendor late and the expense shifts to the next year, raising this year's taxable profit. If you are the supplier, the rule works in your favour. Collect Udyam numbers from your vendors and flag them in your books.

Eligibility for a three-year income tax holiday under section 80-IAC (claimable in any three of the first ten years, subject to approval by the inter-ministerial board), self-certification under nine labour and three environment laws, an 80% rebate on patent filing fees and 50% on trademarks, relaxed public-procurement norms, and faster exit. Recognition needs an entity under ten years old, turnover under ₹100 crore, and genuine innovation or scalability. Get recognised →

For a private placement of shares: a valuation report, a board and shareholder resolution, offer letters in Form PAS-4, money into a separate bank account, allotment within 60 days, and Form PAS-3 filed within 15 days of allotment. Foreign investment adds FEMA — Form FC-GPR within 30 days of allotment and an annual FLA return by 15 July. The angel-tax provision under section 56(2)(viib) was abolished with effect from AY 2025-26, which removed a long-standing valuation risk for domestic rounds.

Search before you launch, file as early as you can afford to. A name that clashes with a registered mark can force a rebrand after you have built recognition into it, and the cost of that dwarfs a filing fee. Filing gives you a date of priority and the right to use ™ immediately. Search a name free →

Appoint an auditor within 30 days (ADT-1), file INC-20A to commence business within 180 days of incorporation, open a bank account and bring in the subscription money, register for GST if applicable, deduct and deposit TDS from the first payment that requires it, hold four board meetings, then the first AGM, AOC-4, MGT-7 and ITR. The two most commonly missed are INC-20A and the first ADT-1. Compliance calendar →

The government fee for e-filing is ₹4,500 per class for an individual, startup, sole proprietor or MSME, and ₹9,000 per class for everyone else. You may use ™ from the day of filing. If nothing is objected or opposed, registration typically takes 12 to 24 months — examination, publication in the journal, a four-month opposition window, then the certificate. Registration lasts ten years and is renewable indefinitely.

Strongly recommended. A public search across the register and pending applications in your class shows whether an identical or deceptively similar mark already exists, which is the single biggest cause of objection under sections 9 and 11. A search costs nothing but time; an objection costs a reply, sometimes a hearing, and occasionally the mark itself. Run a free search →

You have 30 days from receipt to file a written reply addressing each objection, with evidence of use, distinctiveness or consent as appropriate. If the examiner is not satisfied, the matter goes to a show-cause hearing. Missing the 30-day window can get the application treated as abandoned, and reviving it is harder than replying on time. Objection reply support →

A trademark protects brand identifiers: name, logo, tagline, packaging. Copyright protects original expression — code, content, design, music, film — and exists automatically on creation, with registration serving as evidence. A patent protects a novel, non-obvious, industrially applicable invention for 20 years, and requires that you keep it unpublished until you file. Software as such is not patentable in India unless tied to a technical effect.

™ may be used on any mark you claim, filed or not. ® may only be used once the mark is actually registered — using it before that is a misrepresentation and is penalised under the Trade Marks Act. If you are mid-process, ™ is the correct symbol.

You are resident if you are in India for 182 days or more in the financial year, or 60 days or more in the year plus 365 days across the preceding four years. The 60-day test extends to 182 days for Indian citizens leaving for employment, and to 120 days for those with Indian income above ₹15 lakh. An Indian citizen with Indian income above ₹15 lakh who is not liable to tax in any other country is deemed resident. Returning NRIs usually pass through RNOR status for a year or two, during which foreign income stays outside the Indian net.

If India-sourced income — rent, capital gains, interest on NRO deposits, professional fees — exceeds the basic exemption limit, yes. Many NRIs also file voluntarily to recover excess TDS, which is deducted at 20% to 30% on NRO interest and property transactions regardless of actual liability. Note that the section 87A rebate is not available to non-residents. NRI services →

The buyer must deduct under section 195 on the full sale consideration, not merely the gain — 12.5% plus surcharge and cess for a long-term asset, and slab rates for short-term. The way to avoid locking up cash for a year is a lower or nil deduction certificate under section 197 obtained before the sale, which fixes deduction on the actual gain. Apply for it while negotiating, not after registration.

From an NRE account, freely — principal and interest are fully repatriable. From an NRO account, up to USD 1 million per financial year, supported by Form 15CA and, in most cases, a chartered accountant's certificate in Form 15CB. Sale proceeds of inherited property fall within the same limit. Getting 15CA/CB right is what keeps the remittance from being held at the bank.

India has treaties with more than 90 countries, and where the treaty rate is lower than the domestic rate, you may claim it — often reducing TDS on interest, royalties and fees for technical services. To do so you need a Tax Residency Certificate from your country of residence plus Form 10F, and for some treaties a no-permanent-establishment declaration. Relief on doubly taxed income is claimed in the return through Form 67, filed before the return.

Yes. A private limited company can be wholly foreign-owned in most sectors under the automatic route, provided at least one director is resident in India — someone who stayed 182 days or more in the previous financial year. Foreign identity documents must be notarised and apostilled or consularised. After share allotment, Form FC-GPR is filed with the RBI within 30 days, and the FLA return annually by 15 July. LLPs may take foreign investment only in sectors with 100% automatic-route FDI and no performance conditions.

Read the section it is issued under, because that decides everything. 143(1) is an automated intimation, usually an arithmetic or credit mismatch, with 30 days to respond. 139(9) means the return is defective — fix it within 15 days or it is treated as never filed. 142(1) asks for information, 143(2) opens scrutiny, and 148 reopens an earlier year. Verify the document identification number on the portal, note the deadline, and respond within it. Ignoring a notice converts a manageable question into a best-judgment assessment.

Not necessarily. It is the outcome of automated processing and may show a refund, no change, or a demand. Most demands in it come from a TDS credit mismatch, a deduction claimed but not verified, or a return figure not matching Form 26AS or AIS. If it is wrong, file an online rectification under section 154 or a response to the outstanding demand — do not pay a demand you disagree with just to close the notice.

REG-03 queries a registration application. GSTR-3A is a notice for returns not filed. ASMT-10 flags a discrepancy found on scrutiny, typically GSTR-1 against GSTR-3B or 3B against 2B, and you reply in ASMT-11. DRC-01A is an intimation before a formal demand, and DRC-01 is the show-cause notice itself. Reply windows are usually 15 to 30 days, and paying at the DRC-01A stage often avoids penalty altogether.

For income tax: ₹5,000 under section 234F (₹1,000 if income is up to ₹5 lakh), plus 1% a month interest under 234A on unpaid tax and further interest under 234B and 234C. For GST: ₹50 a day per return and ₹20 for nil returns, subject to caps, with 18% interest on tax paid late. For ROC: ₹100 per day per form with no upper limit. The ROC number is the one that quietly becomes the largest.

Yes. In income tax, appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) in Form 35 within 30 days of the order, and onward to the ITAT within 60 days. Under GST, appeal to the Appellate Authority in Form APL-01 within three months, with a pre-deposit of 10% of the disputed tax. Delays can be condoned on sufficient cause, but the clock is short — the first thing to do with an adverse order is diarise the appeal date.

Yes. We draft and file the reply, upload the supporting record, and appear in e-proceedings and video hearings with an authorised representative — a Chartered Accountant or advocate as the forum requires. For litigation-track matters we give you a written assessment of the merits before you decide whether to contest or settle, so the decision is yours and it is informed. Send us the notice →