The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made it mandatory for companies to explicitly disclose their chosen tax regime while filing their income tax returns. This new requirement applies from the current assessment year onwards and is intended to eliminate ambiguity and ensure that the correct set of tax provisions is applied during assessments. Companies opting for the concessional tax regimes under Section 115BAA or Section 115BAB must indicate their choice clearly in the ITR forms, failing which the standard regime will be presumed by default.

The updated Form ITR-6 now includes a dedicated section for declaring the applicable tax regime along with the relevant notification number and date of filing Form 10-IC or 10-ID, as the case may be. This disclosure is crucial for companies to claim lower tax rates while forgoing specified deductions and incentives, as stipulated under the concessional regimes. The department has also emphasized that once the option is exercised, it cannot be withdrawn in subsequent years unless specifically permitted by law.

To aid compliance, the e-filing portal has been upgraded to validate regime declarations during the submission process, reducing the chances of errors and delays. Companies are advised to ensure that their declarations are supported by board resolutions and properly documented for audit and verification purposes. This step is part of the government’s broader push towards transparency, simplification, and automation in the corporate tax framework, aligning with its digital governance goals.