Section 92D and 92E Income Tax Act: Transfer Pricing Records and Accountant Report
Sections 92D and 92E of the Income-tax Act, 1961 dealt with maintenance of transfer pricing information and the accountant's report for international transactions and specified domestic transactions. From 1 April 2026, the corresponding framework is contained principally in Sections 171 and 172 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Rules 84 and 85 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Current corresponding provisions from 1 April 2026
| Subject | Earlier law | Current law |
|---|---|---|
| Transfer pricing information and documents | Section 92D, Income-tax Act, 1961 and Rule 10D | Section 171, Income-tax Act, 2025 and Rule 84, Income-tax Rules, 2026 |
| Accountant's transfer pricing report | Section 92E and Form 3CEB under Rule 10E | Section 172 and Form No. 48 under Rule 85 |
| Record retention | As prescribed under the earlier Rules | Rule 84 requires prescribed information and documents to be kept for nine years from the end of the relevant tax year |
| Time for accountant's report | On or before the specified date under the 1961 Act | Rule 85 requires Form No. 48 at least one month before the due date for furnishing the return under Section 263(1)(c) |
What does Section 171 require?
Section 171 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is the current provision governing prescribed information and documents for international transactions and specified domestic transactions. It also supports the documentation obligations applicable to constituent entities of international groups. Rule 84 sets out the detailed records to be maintained.
In practical terms, transfer pricing documentation ordinarily covers the ownership and group structure, business profile, nature and terms of transactions, functions performed, risks assumed, assets employed, economic and market analysis, comparable uncontrolled transactions, selection and application of the most appropriate method, computation of the arm's length price and supporting agreements, correspondence and financial material.
How long must transfer pricing records be retained?
Under Rule 84 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the prescribed information and documents are to be kept and maintained for nine years from the end of the relevant tax year. Documentation should, as far as possible, be contemporaneous. Where a continuing transaction has no significant change in its nature, terms, assumptions or factors affecting the transfer price, the Rules provide relief from preparing fresh documentation merely because another tax year has begun, subject to the prescribed conditions.
Section 172 and Form No. 48: accountant's report
Section 172 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 requires a person who has entered into an international transaction or specified domestic transaction during a tax year to obtain and furnish the prescribed accountant's report. Rule 85 prescribes Form No. 48. The report is to be furnished at least one month before the due date for furnishing the return of income under Section 263(1)(c).
Form No. 48 is the current successor to Form 3CEB. It reports the relevant international transactions and specified domestic transactions and includes information concerning the associated enterprises or persons, arm's length price determination and prescribed documentation.
Legacy provision: Section 92D of the Income-tax Act, 1961
Section 92D - maintenance and keeping of information and documents. Under the earlier law, a person entering into an international transaction or specified domestic transaction was required to keep and maintain prescribed information and documents. A constituent entity of an international group was also subject to prescribed information and documentation requirements.
The Assessing Officer or Commissioner (Appeals) could require the prescribed information or documents during proceedings. The earlier provision allowed thirty days from receipt of notice, with a possible further extension not exceeding thirty days on application. The provision also addressed furnishing of prescribed information by constituent entities of international groups.
Legacy provision: Section 92E of the Income-tax Act, 1961
Section 92E - report from an accountant. Every person who entered into an international transaction or specified domestic transaction during a previous year was required to obtain an accountant's report and furnish it on or before the specified date in the prescribed form, duly signed and verified and containing the prescribed particulars.
Under the Income-tax Rules, 1962, the prescribed transfer pricing report was Form 3CEB under Rule 10E. For the current regime under the Income-tax Act, 2025, the corresponding report is Form No. 48 under Rule 85 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Key compliance points
- Identify all international transactions and specified domestic transactions for the relevant tax year.
- Maintain the prescribed transfer pricing information and supporting documents under Section 171 read with Rule 84.
- Keep the records contemporaneous and retain them for the prescribed nine-year period.
- Obtain the accountant's report under Section 172 in Form No. 48 and furnish it within the time prescribed by Rule 85.
- Keep agreements, invoices, financial records, comparable data, method-selection analysis and arm's length price workings consistent with the figures reported in the return and Form No. 48.
Meaning of important terms
International transaction: Broadly, a transaction between associated enterprises meeting the statutory cross-border conditions and including transactions treated as international transactions under the transfer pricing provisions. The detailed definition should be read with the current Income-tax Act, 2025 provisions applicable to the transaction.
Specified domestic transaction: A domestic transaction falling within the categories specifically brought within transfer pricing rules by the Act, subject to the statutory conditions and thresholds.
Arm's length price: The price determined under the transfer pricing provisions as the price that is appropriate for the transaction using the prescribed most appropriate method and rules.
Updated: 28 September 2026. This article is intended as a general legal and tax reference. The applicable Act, Rules, notifications and facts of the transaction should be checked for compliance in a particular case.