Home / Income Tax Act 2025 / Section 264

Section 264 Income Tax Act 2025: Who Can Use a Tax Return Preparer?

Section 264 permits the Central Board of Direct Taxes to notify a scheme through which specified eligible taxpayers may prepare and furnish their income-tax returns with the assistance of an authorised Tax Return Preparer (TRP).

Legal position: Section 264 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 concerns a scheme for filing returns through Tax Return Preparers. It is different from Section 264 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which concerned revision of orders. The corresponding earlier provision is Section 139B of the 1961 Act. Eligibility and operational requirements depend on the applicable notified scheme.

What is the purpose of Section 264?

The provision creates an enabling framework for a Board-notified scheme to assist eligible persons in preparing and furnishing income-tax returns. It does not, by itself, authorise every tax consultant to act as a TRP or guarantee that every taxpayer can use the scheme.

The provision must be read with the notified scheme, the return-filing obligations in Section 263 and applicable rules and directions.

Section 264 explained subsection by subsection

Section 264(1): Power to notify a scheme

The Board may frame and notify a scheme under which specified classes of persons may prepare and furnish returns through a person authorised as a Tax Return Preparer. Under clause (b), the scheme may be framed irrespective of the provisions of Section 263. This does not mean that ordinary statutory obligations can be disregarded without the terms of a valid scheme.

Section 264(2)(a): Meaning of Tax Return Preparer

A TRP is an individual authorised under the scheme, excluding a person referred to in Section 515(3)(a)(ii) and an employee of the specified class or classes of persons. The statutory definition is narrower than the everyday meaning of a paid tax-filing assistant.

Section 264(2)(b): Specified class or classes of persons

The defined class consists of persons required to furnish a return under the Act, but excludes companies and persons whose accounts must be audited under Section 63 or another law. Actual participation also depends on how the scheme specifies eligible classes.

Section 264(3): Notification procedure

Every notification for a scheme under subsection (1) must be issued in accordance with Section 534, the Act's provision concerning laying of rules and notifications before Parliament.

Relevant statutory definitions

Board: The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the authority empowered to make the scheme under Section 264.
Tax Return Preparer (TRP): An individual meeting the definition in Section 264(2)(a), including authorisation under the notified scheme and the stated exclusions.
Specified class or classes of persons: The category described in Section 264(2)(b), subject to the exclusions for companies and persons required to have accounts audited.
Return of income: The income-tax return required under the Act, principally governed by Section 263.
Tax audit: Audit obligations under Section 63; a person required to have accounts audited under that section or any other law is excluded from the statutory specified class for Section 264.

Who can use a Tax Return Preparer?

An individual or another non-company person required to furnish an income-tax return may potentially qualify if their accounts are not required to be audited and they fall within a class covered by the applicable scheme. A company, or a person whose accounts require audit under Section 63 or another law, falls outside the statutory definition of the specified class.

Example: A salaried individual with a return-filing obligation and no audit requirement may be within an eligible class if a notified scheme includes that category. By contrast, a company cannot qualify as a specified person under Section 264(2)(b).

Important: This section does not itself specify a TRP fee, prescribe a particular enrolment process or establish a universal filing deadline. Those details should not be assumed without checking the current scheme and official portal instructions.

Practical guidance for taxpayers

  1. Check whether an operative CBDT-notified scheme covers your taxpayer category.
  2. Verify that the person assisting you is authorised under that scheme, rather than relying only on a commercial designation.
  3. Provide accurate income, deduction, tax-credit and other supporting information.
  4. Review the completed return carefully and follow the applicable verification process.
  5. Retain the acknowledgement and relevant supporting records after filing.

Using an authorised preparer does not remove the need for accurate reporting and compliance with the Act.

Frequently asked questions

Can any tax consultant act as a Tax Return Preparer?

No. For Section 264, the person must satisfy the statutory definition and be authorised under the relevant scheme.

Can a company file through a TRP scheme under Section 264?

A company is expressly excluded from the definition of the specified class or classes of persons in Section 264(2)(b).

Are taxpayers subject to mandatory audit eligible?

No. Persons whose accounts are required to be audited under Section 63 or any other law are excluded from that statutory definition.

Does Section 264 replace Section 263?

No. Section 264 enables a specific scheme for preparation and furnishing of returns; Section 263 contains the general return-filing framework.

Is Section 264 of the 2025 Act a revision remedy?

No. The revision remedy formerly found in Section 264 of the 1961 Act is addressed in Section 378 of the 2025 Act.

Statutory references and official resources

For the operative text and any subsequent notifications, consult the Income Tax Department's Income-tax Act, 2025 resource and the official e-Filing portal. The Parliamentary Select Committee report also reproduces the provision and discusses the corresponding Section 139B of the earlier Act.

Last reviewed: 11 November 2026. This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for advice on particular facts.