Tax Health Check for Indian Businesses: What It Covers and Common Findings

Most businesses only find out about tax problems when a notice arrives or an investor's due diligence turns them up. A tax health check finds them first, when they're cheaper and easier to fix. This guide explains what it covers.

What's Reviewed

Filing status

Whether every income-tax, TDS and GST return has been filed, on time, for every period.

Income tax

• Regime choices and their continuing suitability.
• Expenses at risk of disallowance, like cash payments above limits and late statutory payments.
• Depreciation and asset records.
• Open notices and demands.

TDS

• Payments where TDS should have been deducted but wasn't.
• Payments to non-residents without withholding analysis.
• Defaults on TRACES.

GST

• Reconciliation of books, returns and GSTR-2B.
• Credit claimed on blocked items.
• Reverse charge on imported services and specified domestic supplies.

Payroll

• TDS on salaries, perquisites and ESOPs.
• Professional Tax registration and payments.

Common Findings

• TDS not deducted on rent, contractors or professional fees.
• Foreign software and advertising payments without withholding tax or reverse charge GST.
• Input tax credit not claimed and close to its time limit.
• TRACES defaults from PAN or challan errors.
• Professional Tax never registered.
• Old demands on the portals that nobody has responded to.

What You Get

A prioritised report of issues, with the potential tax, interest and penalty where they can be estimated, and a plan to fix them — starting with anything that has a deadline.

When to Do One

• After rapid growth.
• After changing accountants.
• Before a fundraise, loan or sale.
• When notices start arriving.

Getting Help

Think Filing performs tax health checks for businesses, and helps fix what they find.