Plain-English definitions

Tax & Compliance Glossary

62 terms you will meet in returns, notices and GST portals — AIS, ITC, RCM, QRMP, TAN, tax year and more — explained in a line or two.

62 terms 2025 Act terms included

A

Advance tax: Income tax paid in instalments during the year (15 June, 15 September, 15 December, 15 March) when the year's tax after TDS is ₹10,000 or more.
AIS (Annual Information Statement): A statement on the e-filing portal showing financial transactions reported about you — interest, dividends, securities, property and high-value spending.
AOC-4: The MCA form through which a company files its audited financial statements, within 30 days of the AGM.
Assessment year (AY): Under the 1961 Act, the year after the financial year in which income is assessed — AY 2026-27 is for income of FY 2025-26. Replaced by 'tax year' under the 2025 Act.

B

Belated return: A return filed after the due date but before the end of the year (31 December for AY 2026-27), with a late fee.

C

CBDT: Central Board of Direct Taxes — the body that administers income tax.
CBIC: Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs — administers GST and customs.
CGST / SGST / IGST: Central, State and Integrated GST. CGST + SGST apply on sales within a state; IGST on inter-state sales and imports.
CII (Cost Inflation Index): An index used to inflate the cost of an asset for long-term capital gains with indexation. 376 for FY 2025-26 and 384 for FY 2026-27.
CMP-08: The quarterly statement-cum-challan filed by composition dealers by the 18th of the month after the quarter.
Composition scheme: A simplified GST scheme for small businesses: tax at a low flat rate on turnover, no input tax credit, no GST charged on invoices.

D

DIN (Director Identification Number): A unique number allotted by the MCA to a company director.
DIN (Document Identification Number): A number printed on every income-tax notice and order, used to verify that the communication is genuine.
DIR-3 KYC: KYC of directors with the MCA — from 31 March 2026, once every three financial years by 30 June, plus within 30 days of any change in details.
DSC (Digital Signature Certificate): An electronic signature used to sign MCA forms, tax-audit reports and some returns.
DTAA: Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement — a tax treaty that decides which country taxes an income and gives credit for tax paid abroad.

E

E-invoice: An invoice reported to the GST Invoice Registration Portal to get an IRN and QR code; mandatory above notified turnover limits.
E-way bill: An electronic document needed to move goods worth more than ₹50,000, generated on the e-way bill portal.

F

Faceless assessment: An assessment conducted entirely online without meeting the officer; replies are filed on the e-filing portal.
Form 16 / Form 130: The certificate of TDS on salary given by the employer. Form 16 under the old Rules; Form 130 from Tax Year 2026-27.
Form 26AS / Form 168: The annual tax statement showing TDS, TCS and taxes paid against your PAN. Form 168 under the Income-tax Rules, 2026.

G

GST 2.0: The GST rate reform effective 22 September 2025: two main slabs of 5% and 18%, and 40% for luxury and sin goods.
GSTIN: The 15-character GST identification number, which begins with the state code (06 for Haryana) and contains the PAN.
GSTR-1: The GST return of outward supplies (sales) — monthly by the 11th, or quarterly by the 13th under QRMP.
GSTR-2B: An auto-generated monthly statement of the input tax credit available from suppliers' filings, generated on the 14th.
GSTR-3B: The monthly or quarterly summary GST return through which tax is paid.
GSTR-9 / 9C: The GST annual return (turnover above ₹2 crore) and reconciliation statement (above ₹5 crore), due by 31 December.

H

HSN / SAC: Classification codes for goods (HSN) and services (SAC) that decide the GST rate and must be shown on invoices.
HUF: Hindu Undivided Family — a separate taxpayer with its own PAN, formed by a family's common ancestor and descendants.

I

IFF (Invoice Furnishing Facility): An optional monthly upload of B2B invoices for QRMP taxpayers so buyers get credit in time.
IMS (Invoice Management System): A GST portal facility to accept, reject or keep pending the invoices uploaded by suppliers before they flow into GSTR-2B.
Indexation: Increasing the cost of an asset by the CII to account for inflation; now available only for property bought before 23 July 2024 (resident individuals and HUFs).
ITC (Input Tax Credit): GST paid on purchases that can be set off against GST payable on sales.
ITR-U (Updated return): A return filed to report missed income and pay extra tax, within 48 months from the end of the assessment year, with additional tax.

L

LLP: Limited Liability Partnership — a partnership with limited liability, registered with the MCA; files Form 11 and Form 8 every year.
LRS: Liberalised Remittance Scheme — the RBI scheme for individuals to send up to US$ 250,000 abroad a year; TCS may apply.
LTCG / STCG: Long-term and short-term capital gains, decided by how long the asset was held — 12 months for listed securities, 24 months for others.

M

MGT-7 / MGT-7A: The annual return of a company (7A for small companies and OPCs), due within 60 days of the AGM.
MSME-1: A half-yearly return of amounts owed to micro and small enterprises for more than 45 days, due 30 April and 31 October.

N

New tax regime: The default regime (s.115BAC→s.202) with lower slab rates and few deductions; zero tax up to ₹12 lakh taxable income from FY 2025-26.

O

Old tax regime: The optional regime with higher rates but deductions such as 80C, 80D, HRA and home-loan interest.

P

PAN: Permanent Account Number — the 10-character income-tax ID; must be linked with Aadhaar to stay operative.
PMT-06: The challan used by QRMP taxpayers to pay GST for the first two months of a quarter, by the 25th.
Presumptive taxation: Declaring income as a fixed percentage of turnover or receipts without detailed books — s.44AD→s.58, 44ADA and 44AE.

Q

QRMP: Quarterly Return Monthly Payment — a GST scheme for turnover up to ₹5 crore: quarterly returns, monthly tax payment.

R

RCM (Reverse charge): Where the buyer of goods or services, not the seller, pays the GST — for example on legal services or rent from an unregistered landlord.
Rebate (87A / 156): A reduction of tax for resident individuals — up to ₹60,000 in the new regime, making tax nil up to ₹12 lakh taxable income.
Revised return: A return filed to correct an error in an earlier return; for AY 2026-27 allowed till 31 March 2027, with a fee after 31 December.
RNOR: Resident but Not Ordinarily Resident — a residential status (often for returning NRIs) under which foreign income is generally not taxed in India.

S

SFT: Statement of Financial Transactions — reports filed by banks, registrars and others about high-value transactions, which feed into AIS.
Standard deduction: A flat deduction from salary or pension: ₹75,000 in the new regime and ₹50,000 in the old regime.
STT: Securities Transaction Tax — charged on buying and selling shares and derivatives on a stock exchange.
Surcharge: An additional tax on income above ₹50 lakh — 10%, 15%, 25% and (old regime only) 37% at higher slabs — with marginal relief.

T

TAN: Tax Deduction and Collection Account Number — needed by anyone deducting or collecting tax at source, with a few individual exceptions.
Tax audit: An audit of accounts under the income-tax law when turnover or receipts cross specified limits, done and signed by a practising Chartered Accountant.
Tax year: The year in which income is earned, under the Income-tax Act, 2025. Tax Year 2026-27 = 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027.
TCS: Tax Collected at Source — collected by a seller or remitter on specified transactions, such as foreign remittances, cars above ₹10 lakh and scrap.
TDS: Tax Deducted at Source — deducted by the payer from salary, rent, fees, interest and other payments, and deposited with the government.
TIS (Taxpayer Information Summary): A summary of AIS by category of income, used to pre-fill returns.
TRACES: The TDS reconciliation portal used to file corrections and download TDS certificates.

U

Udyam: The free government registration for micro, small and medium enterprises, giving access to MSME benefits.

V

VDA (Virtual Digital Asset): Crypto-currencies, NFTs and similar assets; income from transfer is taxed at 30% with 1% TDS.

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