Income Tax Form 182: Audit Report for Tea, Coffee & Rubber Accounts

The Income Tax Department has issued guidance on Form No. 182, which serves as a statutory audit report for claiming deductions under Section 48 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The form applies to assessees engaged in the business of growing and manufacturing tea, coffee, or rubber in India. It replaces earlier Form 3AC under the 1962 Rules and is now governed by Rule 290 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

Furnishing Form 182 is mandatory for claiming deductions related to deposits made in specified accounts under approved schemes. The audit report must be certified by an accountant and filed electronically through the income tax e-filing portal. It is required to be submitted annually at least one month prior to the due date for filing the return of income.

The form verifies key aspects including maintenance of books of account, deposits into specified accounts, withdrawals and their utilisation, and compliance with conditions relating to asset acquisition and transfer. It also examines whether any amounts are taxable due to non-compliance, such as improper utilisation or premature transfer of assets.

Form 182 is structured into multiple parts covering audit reporting and detailed particulars of deduction claims. The revised format introduces structured fields, mandatory PAN and identification details, and tabulated reporting for deposits and withdrawals. These changes are aimed at improving accuracy, verification, and compliance in the process of claiming deductions.

Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Government of India

FAQs on Income Tax Form 182 (Earlier form 3AC): Audit Report under paragraph 2 of Schedule IX for deduction for tea development account, coffee development account and rubber development account

Audit report under Section 48 read with paragraph 2 of Schedule IX of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Q1. What is Form No. 182?

Ans:- Form No. 182 is a prescribed audit report required to be furnished under Rule 290 and Section 48 read with paragraph 2 of Schedule IX of the Income-tax Act, 2025. It is used for certifying the deduction claimed by an assessee engaged in the business of growing and manufacturing tea, coffee, or rubber in India.

Q2. Who should file this Form?

Ans:- This Form is required to be furnished by an assessee engaged in the business of growing and manufacturing tea, coffee, or rubber in India, who claims deduction under Section 48 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The form is to be certified by an Accountant as defined in Section 515(3)(b).

Q3. Is filing of Form No. 182 compulsory?

Ans:- Yes. Furnishing of Form No. 182 is mandatory where an assessee claims deduction under Section 48. Without furnishing this audit report, the deduction is liable to be disallowed.

Q4. What is the due date for furnishing Form No. 182?

Ans:- Form No. 182 is required to be furnished annually, one month prior to the due date of furnishing the return of income under Section 263(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Q5. What are the documents / information required to prepare Form No. 182?

Ans:- The Chartered Accountant will require:

– Books of account of the business

– Audit report under any other law, if applicable

– Evidence of deposits in the specified account

– Details of withdrawals and utilisation

– Details of assets acquired and transferred, if any

– Computation of deduction under Section 48

– Schedule IX compliance evidence

Q6. What is the effect of furnishing Form No. 182?

Ans:- The audit report enables certification that the claim for deduction under Section 48 is true and correct based on audit examination.

Q7. What is the structure of Form No. 182?

Ans:- Form No. 182 consists of:

– Part A: Audit report where accounts are audited under any other law

– Part B: Audit report where accounts are not audited under any other law

– Part C: Particulars of the assessee

– Part D: Statement of particulars relating to claim of deduction under Section 48

Q8. What is the process flow of filing Form No. 182?

Ans:- The process flow includes:

a. The assessee must first deposit the eligible amounts into a “Special Account” with NABARD or a “Deposit Account” approved by the Tea, Coffee, or Rubber Board within the timelines prescribed by the scheme.

b. The assessee must engage an “Accountant” as defined in Section 515(3)(b) of the Income-tax Act, 2025, to conduct the audit of the business accounts.

c. The Accountant examines the books of account and prepares the statement of particulars in Part D, verifying the accuracy of deposits, withdrawals, and the calculation of the permissible deduction.

d. The Accountant must log into the e-filing portal to fill out the form, ensuring that their Membership Number and Firm Registration Number are correctly entered.

e. It is mandatory for the Accountant to generate and mention a Unique Document Identification Number (UDIN) within the form to validate the audit report.

f. The Accountant must digitally sign the form using their Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) and upload it to the portal.

g. Once the form is uploaded by the Accountant, it must be electronically “Accepted” by the assessee through their own e-filing account to complete the statutory filing process.

Q9. Why is Form No. 182 important?

Ans:- Form No. 182 is a statutory audit report which forms the basis for allowing deduction under Section 48. It ensures verification of deemed income (by way of usage of funds not in accordance with provisions, sale of assets prematurely, etc.) and validates permissible deduction limits.

Guidance Note on Income Tax Form 182: Audit Report under paragraph 2 of Schedule IX for deduction for tea development account, coffee development account and rubber development account

Form No. 182 [corresponding to erstwhile Form 3AC] – Audit Report under Section 48 for claiming deduction in respect of business of growing and manufacturing Tea, Coffee, or Rubber

Purpose:

Form No. 182 is a statutory audit report prescribed under Rule 290 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

It is used for certifying the deduction claimed by an assessee engaged in the business of growing and manufacturing tea, coffee, or rubber in India.

The form verifies that:

• The assessee’s books of account with respect to such business have been audited either under section 48 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 or under any other law
• The assessee has deposited an amount, within time, in a special account with the National Bank (NABARD) or in a deposit account, in accordance with a special scheme/deposit scheme approved by the Tea/Coffee/Rubber Board
• Whether the withdrawals made from the account were for purposes specified either in the special scheme/deposit scheme, or in circumstances mentioned in the section
• Whether withdrawals made for purposes specified in the special scheme/deposit scheme have not been so utilised, in which case, the amount would be chargeable as income of that tax year
• Whether withdrawals have been made for purchase of certain assets mentioned in the section, in which case, the amount would be chargeable as income of that tax year
• Whether any amount has also been claimed as expenditure while computing income under the head ‘Profits and gains of business or profession’, and which needs to be disallowed
• Whether any asset acquired in accordance with special scheme/deposit scheme, has been transferred before eight years, in which case, corresponding part of the cost would be chargeable as income of that tax year
• The amount of deduction permissible in accordance with section 48

Thus, Form No. 182 serves as a Chartered Accountant’s audit certificate authenticating the correctness of the deduction claimed under Section 48.

Who Should File:

Form No. 182 must be furnished by assessees engaged in the business of growing and manufacturing tea, coffee, or rubber in India, who claim a deduction under Section 48.

The audit report in Form No. 182 is to be furnished by a Chartered Accountant. Frequency & Due Dates:

Form No. 182 is furnished annually one month prior to the due date for furnishing the return of income under Section 263(1).

Structure of Form No. 182:

Form No. 182 is divided into three parts.

> Part I: Audit report u/s 48 in case where accounts of the assessee have been audited under any other law

> Part II: Audit report u/s 48 in case where accounts of the assessee have not been audited under any other law

> Part III: Statement of particulars relating to claim of deduction u/s 48:

• Accounting information: Books of account examined, method of accounting followed, maintenance of separate accounts for business of growing and manufacturing tea/coffee/rubber
• Deposit information: amounts deposited within time in the Special/Deposit Account
• Withdrawal information: amounts withdrawn, purposes of withdrawal, utilisation for stated purposes, amounts utilised for purposes not allowed, transfer of asset bought with withdrawn funds before expiry of specified time
• Deduction permissible: Total deduction permissible in accordance with section 48

What are the documents required to file the Form No. 182?

Following documents may be required for filing Form No. 182:

1. Books of account / relevant documents of the business (Balance Sheet, Profit & Loss Account or Income & Expenditure statement).

2. Audit report if audited under any other law

3. Evidence of deposit in the Special / Deposit Account

4. Documents related to withdrawal of funds from Special/Deposit Account showing purpose of withdrawal, proof of utilization

5. Documents related to transfer of assets purchased in accordance with special scheme/Deposit Scheme

What is the process flow of filing Form No. 182? The process flow includes following steps

1. Deposit of amounts into specified Account

2. Withdrawal of amounts (if any) from specified Account

3. Audit by Chartered Accountant under any other law or under section 48

4. Furnishing of Form No. 182 online by Chartered Accountant (e-form)

5. E-verification of Form via DSC

6. Acceptance of Form by taxpayer

Outcome of Processed Form No. 182:

Enables claiming of deduction under Section 48, which can be up to 40% of profits derived from the business, subject to the amount deposited.

Brief note on broad or qualitative changes proposed:

Key updates include the following

• The entire form has been made into a smart form, tabulating data to make extraction easier.
• Books of account examined – A few books of account have been provided in a tabular format so that the accountant need only tick the books examined. A field for adding any other books has been given.
• References to account in National Bank or Deposit Account have been replaced with specified account since the same has been explicitly defined in the new Act.
• Deposit and withdrawal details have been tabulated for ease of entry and extraction.
• Data on transfer of asset has been tabulated for ease of entry and extraction.
• Change in definition of accountant entitled to sign the audit report – The Form originally allowed three types of people to sign the report:
  • A CA as defined in the Chartered Accountant’s Act, 1949
  • A person entitled to be appointed as an Auditor u/s 226(2) of the Companies Act, 1956
  • A person entitled to audit the accounts by virtue of any other law [for those assessees whose accounts were audited under any other law]

The new Act defines accountant in section 515(3)(b) as a CA defined in the Chartered Accountant’s Act, 1949, subject to certain exclusions, like related parties of the assessee or a CA that has been dismissed from government service or convicted of an offence, etc. Since these are reasonable exclusions, the same definition has been included in the proposed Form.

With respect to the second category, the Companies Act, 2013 does not include a corresponding provision of section 226(2) of Companies Act, 1956. Hence, this clause has been removed as redundant.

• Details like membership number, firm registration number, and UDIN have been incorporated in the Form to be filled in mandatorily.

Challenges and Solutions:

Earlier, Form No. 182 majorly had free textboxes to enter details like date of deposit/withdrawal, amount, purpose, etc. By tabulating the data, compliance as well as extraction and validation is expected to be simplified.

Common Changes made across Forms:

1. To make Forms system-friendly and enable e-filing and uploading, certain anomalies found
due to grouping of Name, Designation, Address, PAN and Aadhaar number have been separated into different boxes.

2. Assessment / Financial / Previous year or years have been replaced with Tax year or years, wherever appearing in the Form/Annexure.

3. Sections, Clauses and Schedules changes as per the Income-tax Act, 2025.

4. Currency symbol “Rs.” has been replaced with “₹”.