A company generally files ITR-6 unless it claims exemption under Section 11 and falls under the return applicable to exempt institutions. The return includes financial statements, business income, depreciation, losses, shareholding, tax audit, MAT, concessional-tax options, TDS credits and other corporate disclosures. It must normally be verified using the authorised signatory’s digital signature.
Company ITR Filing Online in India - File Corporate Tax Return with Vakilkaro
Vakilkaro provides expert assistance for ITR filing, document reconciliation, tax computation and e-verification. Where the filing is connected with company registration, LLP registration, GST registration or 12A and 80G registration, the figures and legal status are reviewed together so the return remains consistent with other compliance records.
What Is Company ITR Filing?
Company ITR filing converts the audited or finalised financial statements into the schedules of the corporate income tax return. It reports revenue, expenses, depreciation, capital gains, other income, losses, taxes, assets, liabilities and company-specific information.
The income tax return is separate from MCA annual filings. Form AOC-4 and MGT-7 or MGT-7A do not replace ITR-6, and the figures across these filings should be reconciled. GST, TDS, tax audit and financial-statement data should also remain consistent.
Which Companies Must File?
Domestic companies generally file a return irrespective of profit or loss. A newly incorporated company, dormant company or company with only preliminary expenses may still need to file. Foreign companies with Indian filing obligations must consider the return and schedules applicable to their status.
The authorised signatory, PAN, registered office, business activity and corporate identification details should match current records. Changes in directors, share capital or business status may require disclosure in the return or supporting financial statements.
ITR-6 or ITR-7: Which Form Applies?
ITR-6 is generally used by companies other than those claiming exemption under Section 11. A Section 8 company is not automatically an ITR-7 filer merely because it is not-for-profit. The decisive question is whether it is filing under the applicable exempt-institution provisions and satisfies the required registrations and conditions.
A company claiming exemption under Section 11 may fall within ITR-7. The objects, 12AB registration, audit report and exemption computation must be reviewed before choosing the form.
Documents Required for Company ITR
The file generally includes incorporation records, PAN, audited balance sheet and profit and loss account, schedules, trial balance, general ledger, fixed-asset register, GST returns, TDS returns, Form 26AS, AIS, loan statements, share-capital records, prior returns and tax computations.
Where applicable, the file also includes Form 3CA/3CB and 3CD, Form 29B, Form 10-IC, Form 3CEB, transfer-pricing documentation, foreign-remittance records and details of brought-forward losses or MAT credit.
Corporate Tax Computation
Corporate taxable income is not always equal to accounting profit. The computation adjusts depreciation, income tax, provisions, penalties, CSR expenditure, related-party items, TDS defaults, capital expenditure, exempt income and other provisions.
Advance tax should be reviewed quarterly. TDS and TCS credits must be matched, and self-assessment tax should be paid before filing. The company should also reconcile tax expense and deferred tax in the financial statements with the current-tax computation.
Concessional Tax Regime under Section 115BAA
Eligible domestic companies may opt for the concessional regime under Section 115BAA subject to conditions and exercise of the prescribed option, commonly through Form 10-IC. The decision should be based on a comparison of effective tax, deductions, losses and future plans.
The option should not be selected casually because certain deductions and loss components may become unavailable. The form acknowledgement and return selection must be consistent.
Minimum Alternate Tax and Form 29B
Where normal tax is lower than tax computed on book profit under the MAT provisions, MAT may apply, subject to the company’s regime and statutory exceptions. The book-profit computation begins with the profit shown in the financial statements and makes prescribed additions and deductions.
Form 29B may be required from a Chartered Accountant. MAT credit should be tracked year by year and matched with earlier returns. A company validly opting for a regime where MAT does not apply should still preserve the analysis supporting that position.
Tax Audit, Transfer Pricing and Other Reports
Tax audit may apply according to turnover and other conditions. International transactions or specified domestic transactions may require transfer-pricing documentation and Form 3CEB. These reports have their own timelines and must match the return.
Related-party payments, loans, share issues, foreign remittances and transactions with associated enterprises require careful review. The return schedules should not be prepared in isolation from the statutory audit and transfer-pricing files.
Company Losses and Depreciation
Business loss, capital loss, unabsorbed depreciation and MAT credit follow separate rules. Timely filing may be necessary to preserve carry-forward of certain losses. Changes in shareholding can also affect the use of brought-forward losses in applicable cases.
The company should reconcile the tax-loss schedule with the previous return and assessment orders. A spreadsheet carried forward without checking processing adjustments may overstate the available loss.
Step-by-Step Company ITR Filing Process
The process starts with finalising accounts and reconciling statutory filings. The return form and tax regime are confirmed, tax audit and other reports are completed, taxable income and MAT are calculated, losses and credits are updated and all ITR-6 schedules are prepared.
After tax payment and validation, the return is uploaded and verified using the authorised signatory’s DSC. The acknowledgement, JSON or utility file, computation, reports and reconciliation workbook should be retained.
How Vakilkaro Handles the Filing
- Applicability review: confirm the legal status, income profile, return form and filing section.
- Document checklist: collect financial records, tax statements, registrations and prior-year returns.
- Reconciliation: match books, bank statements, GST, TDS, Form 26AS and AIS.
- Computation: calculate taxable income, deductions, losses, credits, interest and final tax.
- Return preparation: complete the applicable schedules and validation checks.
- Review and filing: obtain approval, pay tax where required, upload and complete verification.
- Post-filing support: retain acknowledgement and assist with refund, defect or mismatch issues.
Company ITR Filing Due Dates
The due date depends on whether transfer-pricing reporting applies and on the statutory category notified for the year. Tax-audit and transfer-pricing reports may have separate deadlines preceding the return date.
A company should not wait for the final week because DSC validity, audit acceptance, tax payment and utility validation can delay submission. Current official announcements must be checked before filing.
Common Company ITR Filing Mistakes
Common mistakes include assuming no return is required because business has not started, choosing ITR-7 solely because the company is a Section 8 company, failing to reconcile MCA and tax figures, omitting MAT analysis, incorrectly exercising Section 115BAA and not matching tax-audit clauses.
Other errors include outdated DSC, incorrect shareholding details, unverified losses, missing foreign-transaction schedules and using accounting depreciation instead of tax depreciation in the computation.
Documents Checklist at a Glance
- PAN and current e-Filing profile details
- Relevant identity, constitution or incorporation records
- Bank statements for the complete year
- Form 26AS, AIS and TDS/TCS certificates
- Income, turnover and expense records
- Financial statements or computation data
- Deduction, exemption and tax-payment evidence
- Earlier return, loss and depreciation schedules
- Audit reports and special forms, where applicable
Real Case Scenario
A newly incorporated private limited company had no sales but had share capital, bank interest, preliminary expenses and professional-fee payments subject to TDS. The promoters believed no ITR was required because operations had not commenced. Vakilkaro finalised the financial statements, reconciled the bank and TDS records, classified the preliminary expenditure correctly and filed ITR-6 using the director’s DSC. The company then had a compliant return available for banking and future due diligence.
Why Choose Vakilkaro?
Vakilkaro combines tax, legal and business-compliance support under one process. The team does not treat return filing as a mechanical upload. The taxpayer’s legal status, income records, tax credits, registrations and related filings are reviewed before the return is finalised. This is especially useful where the same figures appear in GST returns, MCA filings, audit reports, donation statements, partner accounts or bank-finance documents.
Clients receive a structured document checklist, applicability review, computation summary, filing acknowledgement and assistance where the portal raises a validation issue or the department later communicates a mismatch. Internal links are placed naturally within the article rather than collected in a separate related-services section.