Revised Form 3CEAB

The Central Board of Direct Taxes issued Income-tax (9th Amendment) Rules, 2021 on 5th April 2021 to amend Rule 10DA and 10DB of Income Tax Rules, 1962. With this amendment, CBDT notified the Revised Form 3CEAB. The Amendment of Rule 10DA, Rule 10DB and Form 3CEAB is made regarding the furnishing of information and maintenance of documents by the Constituent Entity of an international group. These amendments are applicable from the Financial Year (FY) 2020-2021 relevant to the Assessment Year (AY) 2021-2022.

Income-Tax (9th Amendment) Rules

CBDT notifies amendment in Rule 10DA which deals with Maintenance and furnishing of information and document by a certain person under section 92D, Rule 10DA which deals with Furnishing of Report in respect of an International Group & Form No.3CEAB which is Intimation by a designated constituent entity, resident in India, of an international group. The following are the key amendments:

Amendment in the Rule 10DA and Rule 10DB of the income Tax Rules 1962, which deals with Master File and Country by Country (CbC) Reporting compliances for specified transactions of Constituent entities of an international group;
Form 3CEAA is now required to be filed by any one of the entities designated in Form 3CEAB for both resident and non-resident entities.
Increase consolidated group revenue threshold to determine reporting eligibility from Rs. 5500 Crore to Rs.6400 Crore.

Section 92D of the Income Tax

Section 92D of the Income Tax Act mandates that a person who is involved in an international transaction or specified domestic transaction should regularly maintain the documents prescribed under rule 10D. The documents must be held for 8 years from the relevant assessment year.

Rule 10DA of Income Tax Rules, 1962

Section 92D of the Income-tax Act, 1961 requires a constituent entity of an international group to keep and maintain the information and document in respect of an international group. The same is prescribed in Rule 10DA of the Income Tax Rules, 1962.

Rule 10DA (1) prescribes which constituent entity is required to maintain what information and documents of the international group.
Rule 10DA(2) requires furnishing of the information in Form 3CEAA to the Joint Commissioner on or before the due date for furnishing the return of income as specified under sub-section (1) of section 139.

Rule 10DA(4) provides that, if more than one constituent entities resident in India of an international group required to file the information and document under Rule 10DA(2), the Form 3CEAA may be furnished by anyone constituent entity under the following circumstances:
- The international group has designated such entity for this purpose
- The information has been conveyed in Form No. 3CEAB to the Joint Commissioner on this behalf thirty days before the due date of furnishing Form No. 3CEAA.

Rule 10DB of Income Tax Rules, 1962

Rule 10DB deals with the furnishing of Report in respect of an International Group under section 286 of the Act.

Rule 10DB(1) prescribes that the income-tax authority for section 286 shall be the Joint Commissioner as may be designated by the Director-General of Income-tax (Risk Assessment). This is now substituted with a new sub-rule from 1-4-2021.

Amendment in Rule 10DA

The Income-tax (9th Amendment) Rules, 2021 has substituted the word ‘Commissioner’ to ‘Director’. Hence, Rule 10DA(2) requires furnishing of the information in Form 3CEAA to the Joint Director on or before the due date for furnishing the return of income as specified under sub-section (1) of section 139. The 9th Amendment Rules, 2021 substituted the ‘constituent entities resident in India of an international group’ with ‘constituent entities’ Thus Rule 10DA(4) henceforth covers all the constituent entities whether are resident in India or not of the international group. Hence, with this amendment, Form 3CEAA is now required to be filed by any one of the entities designated in Form 3CEAB for both resident and non-resident entities.