Circular No. 5/2021

Order under section 119 of the income tax act 1961

What this is

Circular No. 5/2021 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 25 March 2021. Its subject is Order under section 119 of the income tax act 1961.

This is an order under section 119 of the 1961 Act — section 239 of the 2025 Act. Section 119 lets the Board give directions to its own officers and, in defined cases, relax a requirement. It is an administrative power, not a power to rewrite the charge.

What it does

Keeps the reporting under clause 30C and clause 44 of the tax audit report in Form No. 3CD in abeyance until 31 March 2022. Form No. 3CD had been amended by notification GSR 666(E) dated 20 July 2018 with effect from 20 August 2018, and reporting under those two clauses was first deferred to 31 March 2019 by Circular No. 6/2018 dated 17 August 2018, then to 31 March 2020 by Circular No. 9/2019 and then to 31 March 2021 by Circular No. 10/2020 dated 24 April 2020. This order carries the deferral one year further.

Why it was issued

The Board acted in view of the prevailing situation due to the COVID-19 pandemic across the country.

Who it reaches

Tax auditors filling Form No. 3CD under section 44AB read with Rule 6G
Assessees subject to tax audit for the years covered
Companies with impermissible avoidance arrangement or GST turnover reporting exposure under those clauses

The provisions it speaks to

Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.

Under the 1961 Act	Now
s.44AB	s.2, s.58, s.63
s.119	s.239

The instrument, as the Board published it

The department publishes this one only as a PDF, so the words below were read out of that PDF by machine. That reading can carry its own mistakes — a misread number, a broken line. Check the signed document before you rely on a figure in it.

F. No. 370142/9/2018-TPL
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes
TPL Division
****
Circular No. 9/2021
New Delhi, dated 25 March, 2021
Order under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961

Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ('the Act') read with rule 6G of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 ('the Rules') requires specified persons to furnish the Tax Audit Report along with the prescribed particulars in Form No. 3CD. The existing Form No. 3CD was amended vide notification no. GSR 666(E) dated 20th July, 2018 with effect from 20th August, 2018. However, the reporting under clause 30C and clause 44 of the Tax Audit Report was kept in abeyance till 31st March, 2019 vide Circular No. 6/2018 dated 17.08.2018, which was subsequently extended to 31st March, 2020 vide Circular No. 9/2019. Vide circular no. 10/2020 dated 24.04.2020, it was further extended to 31st March, 2021.

In view of the prevailing situation due to COVID-19 pandemic across the country, it has been decided by the Board that "the reporting under clause 30C and clause 44 of the Tax Audit Report shall be kept in abeyance till 31st March, 2022."

Under Secretary (TPL)-III

Copy to:
1. PS to FM/OSD to FM/PS to MoS(F)/OSD to MoS(F)
2. PS to Secretary (Finance)
3. Chairman, CBDT
4. All Members, CBDT
5. All Pr. DGsIT/Pr. CCsIT
6. All Joint Secretaries/CsIT, CBDT
7. Directors/Deputy Secretaries/Under Secretaries of CBDT
8. The C&AG of India (30 copies)
9. The JS & Legal Adviser, Ministry of Law & Justice, New Delhi
10. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
11. CIT (M&TP), Official Spokesperson of CBDT
12. Pr DG/IT (Systems) for uploading on official website
13. JCIT (Database Cell) for uploading on departmental website

What to watch

Only clause 30C, on impermissible avoidance arrangements, and clause 44, on the break-up of expenditure by goods and services tax registration, are deferred; the rest of Form No. 3CD is unaffected.
The deferral was to 31 March 2022 and that date has passed, so this order no longer shelters a later report.
Deferral of reporting does not suspend the underlying law; the substantive provisions continue to apply to the assessee.
The header of the copy supplied prints the number as Circular No. 9/2021, against the catalogued Circular No. 5/2021 of the same date, so verify the citation before quoting it.

Where you meet it

In settling the scope of a tax audit report for a year in the deferral period, and in answering a query on why clause 30C and clause 44 were left blank.

What it names

Forms it names. Form No. 3CD

Rules it names. Rule 6G of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The 1962 Rules were replaced by the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which renumbered nearly everything: a rule number quoted here almost never means the same rule today.

It mentions. Circular No. 10/2020, Circular No. 6/2018, Circular No. 9/2019, Circular No. 9/2021

On the same provision

Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.

Circular No.15/2025 — Extension of timelines for filing of various reports of audit and income tax returns ITRS for the assessment year 2025 2 29 October 2025
Circular No. 2/2025 — Extension of due date for filing of form no. 56F under the income tax act 1961 18 February 2025
Circular No. 18/2023 — Circular No. 1 g of 2023 20 October 2023
Circular No. 19/2020 — Condonation of delay under section 119 2 b of the income tax act 1961 in filing of form no. 10BB for assessment year 201 3 November 2020
Circular No. 10/2020 — Order under section 119 of the income tax act 1961 regarding reporting requirement under clause 30C and clause 44 of the 24 April 2020
Circular No. 9/2019 — ( F. No. 370142/9/2018-TPL 14 May 2019

← Circular No. 7/2021 · Circular No. 4/2021 →

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.