Draft Income Tax Rule 160: Time and manner in which persons referred to in rule 159 shall furnish a statement containing particulars of Form No. 97
Draft Rule 160 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 prescribes the time and manner for furnishing statements containing particulars of Form No. 97 declarations received in respect of transactions specified under Rule 159. Persons referred to in sub-rule (2), who receive such declarations, must electronically transmit a statement containing the particulars to the Director or Joint Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) through a designated server and obtain an acknowledgement number. They are also required to retain Form No. 97 for six years from the end of the financial year in which the transaction occurred. The reporting obligation applies to persons specified in Sl. Nos. 11 to 16 of the Table in Rule 159, with certain categories subject to audit under section 58. The statement must be furnished by 31 October where declarations are received by 30 September, and by 30 April of the following financial year where declarations are received by 31 March. Verification of the statement must be carried out by the authorised person as per section 265 in the case of an assessee, or otherwise by the specified person under Rule 159. The rule further empowers the Principal Director General or Director General of Income-tax (Systems) to prescribe procedures, data structures and security standards for secure transmission, archival and retrieval of such information, thereby reinforcing regulatory monitoring and data integrity.
Extract of Rule No. 160 of Draft Income-tax Rules, 2026
Rule 160
Time and manner in which persons referred to in rule 159 shall furnish a statement containing particulars of Form No. 97.
(1) Every person referred to in sub-rule (2) who has received any declaration in Form No. 97 in relation to a transaction specified in column (2) of the Table in rule 159, shall—
i. furnish a statement in a form containing particulars of declaration to the Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) or the Joint Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) through online transmission of electronic data to a server designated for this purpose and obtain an acknowledgement number; and
ii. retain Form No. 97 for a period of six years from the end of the financial year in which the transaction was undertaken.
(2) Persons referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be,–
i. Sl. No. 11 or 12 or 13 or 14; and
iii. Sl. No. 15 or 16 and who is required to get his accounts audited under section 58 of the Act, of the column (4) of Table in rule 159.
(3) The statement referred to in sub-rule (1)(i) shall,—
i. where the declarations are received by the 30th September, be furnished by the 31st October of that year; and
ii. where the declarations are received by the 31st March, be furnished by the 30th April of the financial year immediately following the financial year in which the form is received.
(4) The statement referred to in sub-rule (1)(i) shall be verified—
i. in a case where the person furnishing the statement is an assessee as defined in section 2(11) of the Act, by a person specified in section 265 of the Act;
ii. in any other case, by the person referred to in column (4) of Table in rule 159.
(5) The Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or Director General of Income-tax (Systems) shall specify the procedures, data structures, and standards for ensuring secure capture and transmission of data, evolving and implementing appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies in relation to the form referred to in sub-rule (1)(i).
