Amendment of section 44AB.
13. In section 44AB of the Income-tax Act,—
(i) in clause (a), for the words “sixty lakh rupees”, the words “one crore rupees” shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2013;
(ii) in clause (b), for the words “fifteen lakh rupees”, the words “twenty-five lakh rupees” shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2013;
(iii) in the Explanation, in clause (ii), for the words, figures and letters “the 30th day of September of the assessment year”, the words, brackets and figures “the due date for furnishing the return of income under sub-section (1) of section 139” shall be substituted.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 13 of the Bill seeks to amend section 44AB of the Income-tax Act relating to audit of accounts of certain persons carrying on business or profession.
The existing provisions in clause (a) of the aforesaid section 44AB make it obligatory for every person carrying on business to get his account of any previous year relevant to the assessment year audited by an accountant before the specified date if the total sales, turnover or gross receipts in business for the previous year exceeds sixty lakh rupees.
It is proposed to enhance the said limit from sixty lakh rupees to one crore rupees.
The existing provisions contained in clause (b) of the aforesaid section make it obligatory for every person carrying on profession to get his accounts of any previous year relevant to the assessment year audited by an accountant before the said specified date if his gross receipts in profession for the previous year exceed fifteen lakh rupees.
It is proposed to enhance the said limit from fifteen lakh rupees to twenty-five lakh rupees.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2013 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2013-2014 and subsequent assessment years.
The existing provisions contained in clause (ii) of the Explanation to the aforesaid section defines that expression “specified date” in relation to the accounts of the assessee of the previous year relevant to an assessment year, means the 30th day of September of the assessment year.
It is proposed to change the specified date from the 30th day of September of the assessment year to the due date for furnishing the return of income under sub-section (1) of section 139.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from 1st April, 2012 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2012-2013 and subsequent assessment years.
