Advanced Direct Tax Laws and Practice · Computation of Total Income, Tax Liability and Filing of Returns of various Entities excluding Companies

Filing of Returns by Various Entities under Section 263

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 says who must file a return and by when. The due date depends on the type of assessee: 31 July, 31 August, 31 October or 30 November. Later, you can file a belated, revised or updated return within fixed time limits. Match the person to the table, then count the months.

Understand Filing of Returns by Various Entities

A return of income is the statement you file with the department for a tax year. Section 263 lists who must file. Companies and firms must file whatever their income or loss. A person other than a company or firm must file if total income, before the specified deductions, exceeds the maximum amount not chargeable to tax.

Some persons must file regardless of income or loss: companies, firms, universities and colleges referred to in section 45(3)(a), business trusts, investment funds, and residents (other than not ordinarily resident) who hold foreign assets or have signing authority over foreign accounts. A person who has a loss under business or profession, or under capital gains, and wants to carry it forward must also file.

The due date is a date in the financial year after the tax year. It depends on who you are. The table was replaced by Act No. 4 of 2026 with effect from 1-4-2026. It now treats audited assessees (including companies) as one group, non-audited business or profession assessees and non-audited firm partners as another, and any other assessee as the last.

Three later routes exist. A belated return is for those who missed the due date. A revised return corrects an omission or wrong statement in a return already filed. An updated return lets you declare more income even after the time for the other two has gone, but it has many bars. A return that does not meet the prescribed conditions is defective, and you get 15 days to fix it.

Key rules to remember

Due date: 30 November: Where section 172 applies: assessee, including partners of the firm or the spouse of such partner (if section 10 applies to the spouse) → 30 November; Applies to the person to whom section 172 applies. The table is checked first.
Due date: 31 October: Where section 172 does not apply: company; assessee (other than a company) whose accounts must be audited under this Act or any other law; partner of such an audited firm or the spouse of such partner → 31 October; Audit can arise under any law, not only under the tax Act.
Due date: 31 August: Where section 172 does not apply: assessee with business or profession income whose accounts are not required to be audited; partner of a non-audited firm or the spouse of such partner → 31 August; Non-audited salaried-only individuals are not here. They fall under 'any other assessee'.
Due date: 31 July: Any other assessee → 31 July; Example: an individual with salary and interest income only.
Belated return: Within 9 months from the end of the tax year, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier; Section 263(4). Available to a person who did not file within the time under section 263(1).
Revised return: Within 12 months from the end of the tax year, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier; Section 263(5). Only if you filed under sub-section (1) or (4) and found an omission or wrong statement. It is subject to section 428(b). The period was 9 months before Act No. 4 of 2026.
Updated return: Within 48 months from the end of the financial year succeeding the relevant tax year; Section 263(6)(a). Open whether or not you filed earlier, but the bars in clauses (c) and (d) apply.
Defective return: Rectify within 15 days of intimation (extendable on application); late rectification before assessment may be condoned; If not rectified, the return is invalid and treated as not filed. Section 263(7).

How to solve Filing of Returns by Various Entities questions

Use this order for any question on who files, by when and which type of return.

1Identify the assessee: company, firm, individual, trust, AOP, and so on. Note whether section 172 applies.
2Decide whether filing is compulsory: always for companies, firms and the other persons listed regardless of income, or only if income crosses the exemption limit.
3Check whether accounts are required to be audited under the Act or any other law, and whether the person has business or profession income.
4Read the due date from the table: 30 November, 31 October, 31 August or 31 July. State the actual calendar date from the tax year given.
5If the due date was missed, compute the belated return window: 9 months from the end of the tax year. For corrections, compute the revised window: 12 months.
6If both windows are over or the facts differ, test the updated return: 48 months, then run through the bars in section 263(6)(c) and (d).
7Check the form of the return: defects, rectification period, and the audit report or other documents required.
8Conclude in one line: the due date, the return type allowed and the consequence.

Quickest way: Four-bucket date method

When to use it: When the question asks only for the due date or the last date for a late or corrected return.

Ask: section 172? Yes means 30 November.
Ask: company or audited accounts (or partner of audited firm)? Yes means 31 October.
Ask: business or profession income without audit (or partner of non-audited firm)? Yes means 31 August.
Otherwise it is 31 July.
Add 9 months from 31 March of the tax year for belated, 12 months for revised, and 48 months from the end of the next financial year for updated.

Common mistakes in Filing of Returns by Various Entities

Giving 31 July to a non-audited proprietor with business income.
Students remember 31 July as the individual's date.
Fix: Business or profession income without audit is 31 August. 31 July is only for any other assessee.
Using 9 months for the revised return.
The old rule gave 9 months, and older notes still show it.
Fix: Section 263(5) now gives 12 months from the end of the tax year, or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier.
Counting the belated or revised period from the due date.
It feels natural to count from the missed date.
Fix: Count from the end of the tax year (31 March). The updated return is counted from the end of the financial year succeeding the tax year.
Allowing an updated return to reduce tax or increase a refund.
Students treat it like a revised return.
Fix: Section 263(6)(c) bars an updated return that decreases tax liability, results in a refund where none was due or increases the refund. Only one updated return per tax year is allowed.
Saying a loss-making company need not file.
Students link filing with taxable income.
Fix: Companies, firms and the other listed persons must file regardless of income or loss. A person with a loss must also file in time to carry it forward.
Ignoring the audit-under-any-law condition.
Students think only tax audit counts.
Fix: The table says audited under this Act or under any other law in force. An audit required by another law also brings the 31 October date.

Worked examples

Example 1

A partnership firm's accounts are required to be audited under the Act. Section 172 does not apply. For tax year 2026-27, state the due date of the firm's return, and the last dates for a belated, a revised and an updated return.

Show the solution

The tax year is 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027. The succeeding financial year is 2027-28.
The firm is an assessee other than a company with audited accounts, and section 172 does not apply, so the due date is 31 October 2027.
Belated return: 9 months from the end of the tax year, so 31 December 2027, or before completion of assessment if earlier.
Revised return: 12 months from the end of the tax year, so 31 March 2028, or before completion of assessment if earlier.
Updated return: 48 months from the end of the succeeding financial year, 31 March 2028, so 31 March 2032, subject to the bars.

Answer: Due date 31 October 2027. Belated by 31 December 2027. Revised by 31 March 2028. Updated by 31 March 2032, each subject to the assessment condition or bars.

Example 2

For tax year 2026-27, Sunita is a partner in a firm whose accounts are not required to be audited. Ravi, a salaried individual with interest income only, earns above the exemption limit. Section 172 applies to neither. State each person's due date. Ravi filed on time claiming a refund of ₹10,000 and now wants to file an updated return to claim ₹15,000. Is that allowed?

Show the solution

Sunita is a partner of a non-audited firm, so the due date is 31 August 2027.
Ravi has no business or profession income and no audit, so he is 'any other assessee'. His due date is 31 July 2027.
Ravi's updated return would increase the refund due on the basis of his earlier return.
Section 263(6)(c)(iii) bars an updated return that results in a refund where none was due or increases the refund due.
If he wants to correct a genuine error, he should file a revised return within 12 months from 31 March 2027, subject to the condition in section 263(5).

Answer: Sunita: 31 August 2027. Ravi: 31 July 2027. An updated return to raise the refund is not allowed. Ravi can use a revised return up to 31 March 2028 or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier.

Exam tips

Begin every answer with the person, the audit status and the due date, then name the return type. Examiners mark the provision, the facts and the conclusion.
Always write the actual calendar date. Do the month count visibly, starting from 31 March of the tax year.
Remember that Act No. 4 of 2026 changed the due date table and the revised return period from 1-4-2026. Use the new rules, and say the old ones only when contrasting.
For updated return questions, go through the bars in section 263(6)(c) and (d) one by one against the facts, such as pending assessment, search or survey, or an earlier updated return.
For tax audit limits and the audit report, cross-refer to section 63 and the tax audit topics. Do not quote figures you are unsure of.

Practice questions from Computation of Total Income, Tax Liability and Filing of Returns of various Entities excluding Companies

Filing of Returns by Various Entities in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

Filing of Returns by Various Entities: frequently asked questions

What is the due date for an individual with no business income?

If the individual is an 'any other assessee' and section 172 does not apply, the due date is 31 July of the financial year succeeding the tax year. An individual with non-audited business or profession income has 31 August. An audited individual has 31 October.

What is the difference between belated, revised and updated returns?

A belated return is filed after missing the due date, within 9 months from the end of the tax year. A revised return corrects an earlier return, within 12 months from the end of the tax year. An updated return can be filed within 48 months from the end of the financial year succeeding the tax year, but it cannot reduce tax or increase a refund.

Must a firm or company file if it has a loss?

Yes. Under section 263(1)(b), companies and firms, among others, must file on or before the due date regardless of income or loss.

What happens if my return is defective?

The Assessing Officer may intimate the defect. You have 15 days, or a longer period if allowed on application, to fix it. If you do not, the return is invalid and treated as not filed. A later fix before assessment may be condoned.

Who signs and verifies the return of a firm, AOP or trust?

Section 263 gives the Board power to prescribe the form and the manner of verification. The specific signatories are set out in the verification provisions and rules, so study those separately and quote them from the text.