Services for clients across India. Applicable state, sector and professional requirements are assessed before an engagement.
Tax audit season rewards the prepared: Form 3CD has dozens of clauses that are trivial with reconciled books and miserable without them. The engagement runs audit-adjacent support — schedules, reconciliations, clause-wise documentation — so the audit is an examination of order, not an excavation.
When this service is typically required
- Turnover or receipts cross the audit thresholds — AY 2026-27 limits and due date
- Presumptive-scheme exits or lower-than-deemed profits trigger audit applicability
- The 3CD data pack (loans, related parties, TDS defaults, 43B items) is scattered across the year
- Prior-year audit observations keep repeating because the underlying process never changed
- Books need closing and schedule preparation before the auditor can begin
Indicative scope
- Applicability assessment against current thresholds and the digital-transactions relaxation
- Books closure and audit-ready schedules (fixed assets, loans, related parties, 43B, TDS)
- Clause-wise 3CD data assembly with supporting documents
- Reconciliations: turnover to GST returns, 26AS/AIS to books, payroll to returns
- Coordination through audit queries to signed Form 3CA/3CB-3CD
Key points at a glance
| Item | Position |
|---|---|
| Business threshold | ₹1 crore — relaxed to ₹10 crore where cash transactions stay within the 5% digital test |
| Profession threshold | ₹50 lakh (with the higher limit where the relaxation applies) |
| Presumptive exits | Audit can apply below thresholds where deemed-profit conditions are not met |
| Season | Audit-report due dates precede the audited-return due date — start early |
Deliverables
The audit-ready schedule file, clause-wise 3CD annexure pack with evidence, reconciliation statements, and a repeat-observation tracker showing what was fixed since last year.
Information and documents generally required
Books of account and trial balance, GST returns for the year, TDS returns and challans, loan statements and confirmations, related-party details, fixed-asset register and prior-year audit report.
Engagement process
Client responsibilities, assumptions and reliance
Complete books and documents on the agreed calendar; positions on judgmental clauses are taken with the client's written instruction after options are explained. Where independence rules apply to a certification, the respective roles are kept distinct.
Scope exclusions
Assessment or appeal proceedings arising later, transfer-pricing audits, and prior-year clean-ups beyond the quoted scope are separate engagements.
Frequently asked questions
Are we even liable for audit this year?
The applicability memo answers it against the current thresholds and the digital-transactions relaxation — including the presumptive-scheme traps that catch businesses below the headline limits.
Can the audit be done in the last week before the due date?
Physically sometimes; sensibly no. Late starts convert documentation gaps into qualified remarks or wrong positions. The calendar in the engagement letter exists to prevent exactly that.
Will the report be free of observations?
No professional can promise that — observations reflect the underlying facts. What preparation does is eliminate avoidable ones and document the judgment calls properly.
Our GST turnover and books don't match. Problem?
A reconciliation, not necessarily a problem — timing and valuation differences are normal when documented. Unexplained gaps are what invite trouble, in audit and in scrutiny.
Do you also file the return after the audit?
Yes — return filing rides on the audited figures under the income-tax compliance engagement.
The applicable scope, documentation, professional responsibilities and timelines are agreed in an engagement letter before commencement.
Income Tax ComplianceBookkeeping & AccountingTDS ComplianceRequest a Scope DiscussionThis page describes the service in general terms as on 6 August 2026 and is not professional advice or an assurance of any outcome. Registrations, filings, refunds and departmental outcomes depend on facts and the concerned authority. Figures and due dates change; verify current positions before acting.