Chapter XV of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Return of Income

What this chapter does

Section 262 carries PAN; section 263 is the return of income and the successor to section 139 of the 1961 Act, with the belated and revised return limits now expressed as months from the end of the tax year; section 264 the tax return preparer scheme; section 265 who must verify the return; section 266 self-assessment; and section 267 the tax on an updated return. It is a small chapter that almost every taxpayer touches.

What to watch

• The outer date for a belated or revised return has been re-expressed, not lengthened — check it against the tax year, not the assessment year.
• Section 121 in Chapter VII makes a late return fatal to a carry-forward; the two chapters must be read together.

The sections in this chapter

• Section 262 — Permanent Account Number
• Section 263 — Return of income read in full
• Section 264 — Scheme for submission of returns through tax return preparers
• Section 265 — Return by whom to be verified
• Section 266 — Self-assessment
• Section 267 — Tax on updated return