ET OnlineNew ITR forms for AY 2026-27: NRIs opting for new presumptive income scheme now have to make this separate disclosure additionally (AI generated representative image)
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The updated income tax return (ITR) forms for AY 2026-27 now feature specific columns for reporting profits and gains from businesses that fall under Sections 44B, 44BB, 44BBA, 44BBC, or 44BBD. Non-resident taxpayers must now report their gross receipts/turnover and net profit from these businesses in the new column if they decide to opt for the new presumptive taxation scheme.
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It’s important to remember that AY 2026-27 for which these new ITR forms have been released, is different from Tax Year 2026-27. For AY 2026-27, salaried individuals, pensioners, students and others who are not liable for tax audit, will file their ITR on or before July 31, 2026. For Tax Year 2026-27, you will file the ITR on or before July 31, 2027.
For those who might not be familiar, as per Taxmann research, if you are opting for the presumptive taxation scheme, then the Schedule Part A section in the ITR form will capture the details of your profit and loss statement for the financial-year.
This schedule is relevant for taxpayers who keep books of accounts and is particularly important for those engaged in business or professional activities. If you don’t maintain regular books of account for business or profession, you’ll need to provide information under ‘No Account Case’, where you declare your gross receipts and expenses.
Chartered Accountant Chintan Ghelani, Partner, Direct Tax, N. A. Shah Associates LLP, explained to ET Wealth Online that the new ITR forms now require non-resident taxpayers covered under presumptive taxation provisions (such as Sections 44B, 44BB, 44BBA, 44BBC, and 44BBD) to disclose both gross receipts/turnover and the corresponding presumptive income separately. Earlier, only the computed presumptive income was typically reported without providing a clear breakup of the underlying receipts.
Asked why this new change was incorporated in the ITR forms, Ghelani said that these changes have been introduced to improve transparency and enable the tax authorities to cross-verify reported income with TDS, AIS, and other data sources, as well as to ensure correct application of prescribed presumptive rates.
Ghelani says: “While it does not change the tax computation mechanism, it increases compliance by requiring basic reporting of revenue figures supporting the declared income.”
What is the new presumptive taxation scheme?
According to Taxmann research, the Finance Act, 2025, introduced Section 44BBD, providing a presumptive taxation scheme for non-residents engaged in supplying services or technology for setting up electronics manufacturing facilities or manufacturing electronic goods in India. Applicable from Assessment Year 2026–27, the scheme deems 25% of the specified receipts as taxable income.
Reporting for presumptive income under Section 44BBD [ITR 3, 5 and 6]
To facilitate compliance, the ITR forms have been updated by amending the declaration in Part A–GEN to capture whether income is being offered under Section 44BBD, and by incorporating specific reporting in Schedule BP to disclose such deemed profits, in line with other presumptive taxation provisions.
From a compliance perspective, presumptive taxation schemes generally relieve taxpayers from the need to maintain books of accounts and undergo a tax audit under Section 44AB.
While Section 44AB explicitly excludes assessees opting for Sections 44B and 44BBA from audit requirements, a similar explicit exclusion has not been provided for Section 44BBD.
However, the manner in which the new ITR forms have incorporated Section 44BBD, similar to Section 44B or 44BBA, etc., indicates legislative intent to extend the same treatment, suggesting that tax audit may not be required in such cases, thereby aligning compliance requirements with the presumptive framework.
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