44AA & 44AD

[Tushar More]

Dear All,

As we all know, that maintenance of Books of Accounts u/s 44AA is not required, if a person opts for presumptive taxation u/s 44AD, and a person opting for such scheme may even declare income greater than the income deemed u/s 44AD (i.e., income greater than deemed 8% of turnover). So in case a person opting for 44AD declares income greater than 8%, is it necessary for him to mantain books of accounts. The law is silent in this regard.

However, it is specifically mentioned in sec 44AA that, if a person declares income lower than income deemed u/s 44AD, and his income is greater than the minimum taxable limit, than he has to maintain books u/s 44AA.

What if the person declares income greater than 8%, which is beyond the minimum taxable limit?

Please clarify.

AI Summary

Presumptive taxation and bookkeeping: does reporting income above the deemed return negate records requirements under the presumptive regime? Whether a taxpayer who adopts the presumptive taxation regime under section 44AD but reports profit above the deemed return must maintain books of account under section 44AA; section 44AA explicitly mandates bookkeeping when declared income is lower than the deemed income and total income exceeds the basic exemption, but is silent regarding declared income above the deemed percentage, creating an interpretive gap about the interplay between the presumptive scheme and statutory bookkeeping obligations.