Guidance Note on Form 6

Form 6 is an Income-tax form used by an assessee claiming deduction under Section 44 or Section 51 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and is required to be furnished as an audit report certified by an accountant, as mandated under section 44(6) or section 51(7).

Purpose of Form 6: The primary purpose of filing Form 6 is to:

• Furnish an audit report after examination of accounts
• Support claims of deduction under Section 44 (preliminary/project expenditure)
• Support claims of deduction under Section 51 (mineral prospecting and development expenditure)
• Ensure audit-based verification of project costs and expenditure
• Strengthen compliance, transparency, and revenue safeguards

Filing Requirements

(i) Who can file: Any assessee claiming deduction under Section 44 or Section 51 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, other than a company or a co-operative society

(ii) Who must certify the Form: Form 6 must be certified by an accountant as defined under Section 515(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (i.e., a Chartered Accountant in practice with some exceptions).

(iii) When to file: Form 6 must be filed one month prior to the due date for furnishing the return of income for the relevant Tax Year under Section 263(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

(iv) How to file: The Form must be filed electronically through the Income-tax e-Filing Portal and verified using a Digital Signature Certificate (DSC).

Information Required in Form 6

The Form requires the following key information:

(i) Audit Report Section

• Examination of Accounts, Balance Sheet and Profit & Loss Account
• Declaration of true and fair view
• Accountant’s Membership Number
• Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN)
• Firm Registration Number (FRN)

(ii) Section A — Deduction under Section 44

Part A — Particulars of the Assessee

• Name
• PAN
• Address
• Status
• Email ID
• Contact number
• Tax Year

Part B — Business and Deduction Details

• Date of commencement of business
• Nature of deduction (extension or new unit)
• Date of commencement of production/operation
• Qualifying expenditure (feasibility report, project report, market survey, engineering services)
• Legal charges
• Project cost details
• Computation of eligible deduction
• Confirmation of filing Form 5 under Rule 27, if applicable

(iii) Section B — Deduction under Section 51

Part A — Particulars of the Assessee

• Name
• PAN
• Address
• Contact details
• Tax Year

Part B — Mineral and Expenditure Details

• Name of mineral(s)
• Tax Year of commercial production
• Year-wise qualifying expenditure
• Audit date
• Amount of expenditure eligible under Section 51(3) and Section 51(4)

Frequency and Due Date

• Frequency: Form 6 is required to be filed for the first tax year in which the deduction under this section is claimed, under Section 44 or Section 51.
• Due Date: The Form must be furnished one month prior to the due date of filing the return of income for the relevant Tax Year under Section 263(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Documents Required

• Audited financial statements
• Project / feasibility / engineering reports
• Bills and invoices for qualifying expenditure
• Asset and project cost records
• Mineral prospecting and development records (where applicable)
• Supporting audit working papers
• Proof of PAN and taxpayer identity

Process Flow of Filing

• Assessee compiles financial statements and expenditure records
• Assessee appoints the Accountant on the e-Filing portal for Form 6.
• Accountant certifies the expenditure and the claim as per FN 006
• Accountant uploads Form 6 via their CA login.
• Assessee reviews the uploaded form under the ‘Pending Actions’ worklist.
• Assessee accepts and verifies the Form using DSC/EVC to complete the filing.
• Electronic acknowledgement is generated upon successful verification by the Assessee.
• UDIN has to be generated and updated on the filing portal by the CA

Key Points to Note

• Filing of Form 6 is mandatory for claiming deduction under Section 44 or Section 51
• UDIN is mandatory for audit authentication
• DSC verification is required for valid submission
• Non-filing or incorrect filing may result in disallowance of deduction
• Year-wise expenditure details must be accurately reported where expenses span multiple Tax Years

Outcome Details

• Allowability of Deduction: Form 6 serves as the statutory basis for allowing deductions under Sections 44 and 51.
• System-Based Verification: The filed Form is subject to automated risk checks and backend verification.
• Revenue Assurance: Audit certification strengthens the integrity of deduction claims and minimizes litigation risk.

Challenges and Solutions

The revised Form 6 is designed as a smart e-Form aimed at enhancing compliance through:

• Auto-population of taxpayer details
• Real-time validations and structured data fields
• Standardization of address and identity information
• Integration with audit and deduction workflows

Common Changes across Forms:

• Use of “Tax Year” replacing earlier year references
• Updated section references under the Income-tax Act, 2025
• Strengthened digital verification and audit traceability

Audit report compliance for deduction claims under income-tax law requires Form 6, UDIN, and electronic verification. Form 6 is the prescribed income-tax audit report for an assessee claiming deduction under Section 44 or Section 51 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, and must be certified by an accountant. It is to be filed electronically through the Income-tax e-Filing Portal, verified by Digital Signature Certificate, and furnished one month before the due date for the return of income for the relevant Tax Year. The form requires audit confirmation, supporting records, UDIN generation, and assessee verification for claims under both deduction provisions.