Who may file or advise on a tax return?
The taxpayer may file the income-tax return. A consultant is someone the taxpayer engages to prepare or advise on that return. The law does not require a consultant for every return, and the Companies Act does not create an office by that name.
Who may file the return?
An individual files his or her own return, or authorises someone to prepare it. A company return is verified by the director or other person the Income-tax Act specifies. The filing itself is on the income-tax page. Engaging this firm is a separate agreement. Reading the guide does not create it. The site rules are on the terms page.
Who signs a tax audit?
Where the Act requires a tax audit, a chartered accountant conducts it and signs the report. That is a statutory role. It is not the same as informal advice, and it is not an appointment by the Registrar of Companies.
What does this page not do?
It does not set a fee. It does not make the Assessing Officer the taxpayer’s adviser. The Assessing Officer examines the return for the department.
Frequently asked questions
Four questions cover filing, a Registrar office, hiring this firm, and the Assessing Officer.
Must every return be filed by a consultant?
No. The person whose income it is may file it. A company return is verified by the person the Income-tax Act names, usually a director.
Is a tax consultant a Registrar appointment?
No. The Companies Act does not create an office of that name. A chartered accountant is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India.
Does reading this guide hire the firm?
No. An engagement starts when the work is agreed. The terms of the site are separate from that agreement.
Is the Assessing Officer a consultant?
No. The Assessing Officer is the department’s officer. A consultant, if one is engaged, acts for the taxpayer.
Sources
A return is filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961. A tax audit, where it applies, is signed by a chartered accountant. This site’s terms say when a reader becomes a client.