Tax Audit Penalty for AY 2026-27: Section 271B Amount if You Miss 21 October

Updated 28 September 2026: CBDT extended the AY 2026–27 tax-audit report due date to 21 October and the related audited ITR due date to 21 November for persons at S. No. 2 of Explanation 2 to section 139(1). The separate transfer-pricing Form 3CEB deadline is not covered. Official Income Tax Department announcement

If a tax audit is required under section 44AB and the report is not furnished by the due date, section 271B can apply. For AY 2026-27 that due date is 21 October 2026 unless CBDT extends it.

How much is the penalty?

Section 271B levy is 0.5% of total sales, turnover or gross receipts in the relevant previous year, or ₹1,50,000, whichever is lower. A ₹10 crore turnover therefore hits the cap of ₹1,50,000. A ₹2 crore professional receipt base is 0.5% = ₹1,00,000.

When the penalty is often dropped

Section 273B says no penalty if the taxpayer shows reasonable cause. Delay caused by a late statutory audit, a genuine system outage, or a documented illness is sometimes accepted. Silence plus a late upload is not a defence. File the report, keep the acknowledgement, and record why the date was missed.

21 October vs 21 November

Missing 21 October is a report default. Missing 21 November is an ITR default for audit cases and attracts a different late-fee / interest path. Do not treat the ITR date as the audit-report date.

Get the AY 2026-27 report filed

PGT & Associates in Ahmedabad prepares Form 3CA/3CB and Form 3CD, reconciles GST and TDS, and e-files before 21 October. Call +91-87994-99189 or write to info@pgtandassociates.com with last year's turnover and whether accounts are already under statutory audit.