| Form | Who | What the CA does | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3CA | Accounts already audited under another law — companies (Companies Act 2013), entities audited under a state or special Act | Refers to the existing statutory audit and reports on the 3CD particulars | Rule 6G(1)(a) |
| 3CB | No audit under any other law — proprietorships, most partnership firms, LLPs below the LLP-Act audit threshold | Audits the accounts and expresses the true-and-fair opinion, then reports on the 3CD particulars | Rule 6G(1)(b) |
| 3CD | Annexed in BOTH cases | 44 clauses of particulars — depreciation, Sec 43B, TDS/TCS tables, 269SS/T, ratios — certified by the tax auditor | Rule 6G(2) |
Thresholds (business): turnover above ₹1 crore, lifted to ₹10 crore where cash receipts and cash payments are each ≤5%. Profession: gross receipts above ₹50 lakh (₹75 lakh at ≤5% cash). Due date: the specified date, one month before the Sec 139(1) return date — ordinarily 30 September. Miss it and Sec 271B exposes 0.5% of turnover up to ₹1,50,000, subject to reasonable cause.
The 3CD template carries the clause structure ready for your letterhead; the ceiling calculator keeps the 60-per-partner ICAI cap honest across the firm.
And when the data-heavy clauses should compute themselves from the books — see 3CD automation, or start free: your first audit is on us.
One question decides it: are the accounts already audited under any other law? If yes — a company audited under the Companies Act 2013, a co-operative audited under its state Act — the tax auditor reports in Form 3CA (Rule 6G(1)(a)), which refers to that statutory audit. If no other law requires an audit — a proprietorship, most partnership firms, an LLP below the LLP-Act audit threshold — the tax auditor audits the accounts and reports in Form 3CB (Rule 6G(1)(b)). Form 3CD is annexed in both cases.
Form 3CD is the statement of particulars under Rule 6G(2) — 44 clauses of factual and computational disclosures: books and method (11), depreciation (18), payments to specified persons, Sec 43B items (26), TDS/TCS compliance tables (34), Sec 269SS/269T loans (31), ratios (40), and more. It is the data annexure the assessing machinery actually reads; the 3CA/3CB is the opinion wrapper around it.
Business: total sales/turnover/gross receipts above ₹1 crore — raised to ₹10 crore where cash receipts AND cash payments are each 5% or less of the totals. Profession: gross receipts above ₹50 lakh (₹75 lakh where cash receipts are 5% or less, per the Finance Act 2023 change). Presumptive cases have their own trigger: declaring lower-than-presumptive profits under Sec 44AD/44ADA with income above the basic exemption also compels audit.
The "specified date" is one month before the ITR due date under Sec 139(1) — ordinarily 30 September for taxpayers whose return is due 31 October. The report is filed electronically by the CA on the e-filing portal and accepted by the assessee; CBDT extends the date in some years, so verify the current year’s notification before relying on it.
Sec 271B: one-half per cent of turnover or gross receipts, capped at ₹1,50,000 — unless reasonable cause is shown (Sec 273B). Late filing of the report attracts the same exposure; courts have accepted causes like the auditor’s resignation or seizure of books, but routine delay is not reasonable cause.
Yes — for a company, the statutory auditor commonly also signs the tax audit (Form 3CA refers to their own Companies Act audit). The limit to watch is the ICAI ceiling on tax audit assignments per partner (60 per partner per year, excluding certain audits), and the usual independence rules.
