The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued comprehensive guidelines for compulsory selection of income tax returns for complete scrutiny during Financial Year 2026-27. According to reports from NDTV Profit, the guidelines govern returns filed under the Income-tax Act, 1961, but cite the provisions of the new Income-tax Act, 2025 as the legal authority for issuing them. As in previous years, the framework aims to standardise case selection criteria for consistent tax scrutiny.
Under CBDT's norms, cases where a survey under Section 133A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, was conducted on or after April 1, 2024, will be selected for complete scrutiny. As reported by NDTV Profit, these will not include the surveys under Section 133A(2A). The guidelines also cover cases involving search under Section 132 or requisition under Section 132A of the Income-tax Act, 1961, initiated on or after April 1, 2024. According to the tax department, these provisions enable tax authorities to collect evidence of undisclosed income or wealth and to seize related assets for securing tax or penalty demands.
Cases under section 148 and 143(2) will be selected where a notice under Section 148 has been issued, involving search action initiated on or after April 1, 2021 but before September 1, 2024, or survey action conducted on or after April 1, 2021. As reported by NDTV Profit, the Jurisdictional Assessing Officer serves notice under Section 143(2) in such cases. The guidelines also cover entities claiming exemption under registration or approval provisions such as Sections 12A, 12AB, and others of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Cases will be selected where such registration or approval has not been granted, or has been cancelled/withdrawn by the Competent Authority on or before March 31, 2025, based on returns filed by these entities in FY26.
The guidelines mandate compulsory scrutiny for cases with recurring additions from earlier years, with the amount standing at over ₹50 lakh in eight metro cities or ₹20 lakh elsewhere, where the addition has become final or was upheld by Appellate Authorities favouring Revenue. According to NDTV Profit, under CBDT's FY 2026-27 guidelines, cases will face compulsory scrutiny where specific tax-evasion information for the relevant assessment year has been provided by any law-enforcement agency and the assessee has furnished a return for that year.
In a significant development, the CBDT has authorized the Director General of Income-tax (Systems) to upload foreign financial information received under the automatic exchange of information (AEOI) framework into taxpayers' AIS - Form 26AS under the Income-tax Act, 1961, and Form 168 under the Income-tax Act, 2025. As reported by Economic Times, this marks a major shift from the previous era where such information largely remained within the tax administration, with taxpayers generally having little visibility into overseas financial information available with the Income Tax Department. The initial upload covers historical AEOI information relating to calendar years 2022, 2023, and 2024, which has little direct relevance to AY 2026-27 returns but serves as a timely reminder of proper foreign asset reporting. This sequencing appears designed to set the stage for the Foreign Assets of Small Taxpayers Disclosure Scheme, 2026, which Parliament introduced through the Finance Bill, 2026, and will provide taxpayers with an opportunity to review past disclosures before the scheme's compliance window becomes operational.
