Rule 188 — Report of audit in case of registered non-profit organisations under section 348. Made under s.348, s.263 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Rule 188 gives effect to Section 348 and Section 263 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A rule cannot go beyond the section it serves: where the two seem to differ, the section governs.
The rule fixes both the form and the time for one report. The report of the audit of the accounts required to be furnished under section 348 by a registered non-profit organisation is to be furnished in Form No. 112, and is to be furnished one month prior to the due date of furnishing the return of income under section 263(1).
Section 348 requires a registered non-profit organisation to have its accounts audited and the report furnished, without stating the form or the date. The rule supplies both, and by setting the date one month ahead of the return due date it makes the audited position available before the return is made rather than alongside it — so the return is filed on figures an accountant has already reported on.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time for furnishing the audit report | One month prior to the due date of furnishing the return of income under section 263(1) | The rule sets the date by reference to the section 263(1) due date and states no calendar date of its own | Rule 188 |
The operative date is not the return date. The report is due one month before the section 263(1) due date, so an organisation that plans its audit around the return deadline is already a month late. The rule prescribes the report's form and time; section 348 governs who must be audited and on what accounts, and the return itself is still governed by section 263(1).
A registered non-profit organisation whose return under section 263(1) is due on 31 October must furnish its audit report in Form No. 112 by 30 September, one month earlier. Furnishing the report along with the return on 31 October would not answer rule 188, even though the return itself would be in time.
A registered non-profit organisation meets this rule each year in the audit engagement and in Form No. 112 furnished a month ahead of its return, and again if the report's timeliness is questioned.
The report of the audit of the accounts, required to be furnished under section 348, shall be furnished in Form No. 112, one month prior to the due date of furnishing the return of income under section 263(1).
