A S BANKA ADVISORS

There are now two filing deadlines sitting in most founders’ calendars, and they belong to two different taxpayers. Your company’s date did not change. Yours very likely did.

The Finance Act, 2026 substituted Explanation 2 to Section 139(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 and created a third due date: 31 August of the assessment year, for an assessee with income from business or profession whose accounts are not required to be audited and to whom Section 92E does not apply. For AY 2026-27, that is 31 August 2026.

Two things about this are commonly misread, and both cost money.

It is not an extension

Every year the profession waits for a CBDT circular pushing the date because the utilities shipped late. This is not that. It is a statutory amendment, permanent from AY 2026-27 onward, and the Income Tax portal is already carrying the 31 August banner for ITR-3 and ITR-4 filers. Plan your FY 2026-27 calendar around it too, because it carries forward: from tax year 2026-27 the same date sits in Section 263(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which consolidates the old Sections 139, 139D and 194P into one return-filing provision.

Your private limited company is not on 31 August

This is where founders get it wrong. The new category only covers assessees whose accounts are not required to be audited under the Income-tax Act or under any other law in force. A private limited company is statutorily audited under the Companies Act, 2013. That is “any other law”. So your company sits at 31 October 2026, exactly where it always did, and if it has a transfer pricing report under Section 92E, at 30 November 2026.

What moved to 31 August is the personal and firm layer around the company:

• A founder drawing consulting or professional income alongside salary, below the Section 44AB thresholds
• Partners of an LLP or firm whose accounts are not liable to audit
• Advisors, fractional CXOs and independent directors filing under Section 44ADA
• Presumptive filers under Sections 44AD, 44ADA and 44AE who stay under the audit line

Note the asymmetry. A partner of a firm that is audited files by 31 October, on the same ITR-3 as a partner of a firm that is not. Same form, different statutory date. The test is Section 44AB audit liability, never the form number.

The thresholds that decide it

For FY 2025-26, audit under Section 44AB bites at turnover above Rs 1 crore for business, rising to Rs 10 crore where cash receipts and cash payments each stay at or under 5 per cent of their respective totals, and at gross receipts above Rs 50 lakh for a profession. Separately, declaring profits below the presumptive rate under Section 44AD or 44ADA while total income exceeds the basic exemption limit pulls you into audit, and therefore into 31 October, without your turnover changing at all. That one catches people who had a bad year and assumed it meant less compliance.

The part that actually costs money

Interest under Section 234A at 1 per cent per month, and the Section 234F fee of Rs 1,000 or Rs 5,000 depending on total income, are irritating but survivable. The consequence that is not survivable is this: business loss, speculation loss and capital loss can be carried forward only where the return is furnished within the due date under Section 139(1).

File one day late and those losses are extinguished. Permanently. A revised return does not rescue them, because the condition attaches to the original filing. Loss from house property is not caught by this, and unabsorbed depreciation stands on a different footing, but everything in the business and capital gains column is gone.

If you are early stage, this is the whole article. A genuine FY 2025-26 loss is a future tax shield you have already paid for in cash. Losing it to a calendar error is the most expensive administrative mistake available this month.

What to do in the next three weeks

1. Sort your filings by audit liability, not by which form you used last year. Run the Section 44AB test on each entity and each individual.
2. Identify every filing that carries a loss to carry forward and move it to the front of the queue. Those are hard deadlines, not target dates.
3. Confirm the presumptive position before you rely on 31 August. Declaring below the presumptive rate can silently reclassify you.
4. Pay self-assessment tax now even if the return slips. Section 234A interest runs on tax that remains unpaid, so clearing it limits the damage.

For most founders the practical answer is that the company keeps its 31 October rhythm while the founder’s own return, and the firm or LLP layer, has quietly moved up to 31 August. Two dates, one book of work, and only one of them forgives a late loss.

Download the full carousel PDF for the complete AY 2026-27 due-date map, the Section 44AB thresholds and the consequence table.

Need help working out which of your entities sits on which date, or protecting a loss carry-forward before 31 August? Book a quick call: https://calendly.com/asbanka-info/30min

Talk to an Expert. CA Adityavikram Banka, Founder, A S Banka Advisors Private Limited.