CS Executive Tax Laws Classes

CS Executive Paper 4 — Tax Laws

Tax Laws is a 100-mark paper split between Direct Tax (~50 marks) and Indirect Tax/GST (~50 marks). For the December 2026 exam, Finance Act 2025 applies for Direct Tax and GST amendments up to ICSI's notified cut-off date apply for Indirect Tax. It is the most amendment-sensitive paper in CS Executive.

Direct Tax — Income Tax Act 1961

• Residential status and scope of total income
• Heads of income — Salaries, House Property, Business/Profession, Capital Gains, Other Sources
• Deductions under Chapter VI-A — Sections 80C through 80U
• TDS provisions — Sections 192–196D; rates, thresholds, deposit timelines, Form 26AS, AIS
• Advance tax — Computation, due dates (15 June, 15 Sept, 15 Dec, 15 March)
• Assessment procedure — Self-assessment, scrutiny assessment, reassessment
• Penalties and prosecution — Sections 271 and 276 series

Indirect Tax — GST

• Constitutional background — Article 246A, Concurrent List inclusion of GST
• Supply — Scope, composite vs mixed supply, Schedule I/II/III classification
• Time of supply and Value of supply — Specific rules for goods and services
• Input Tax Credit — Eligibility, blocked credits (Section 17(5)), reversal for non-payment, GSTR-2B matching
• Registration — Threshold limits (₹40L / ₹20L / ₹10L by category), compulsory registration scenarios
• Returns — GSTR-1, GSTR-3B, Annual Return (GSTR-9), reconciliation statement (GSTR-9C)
• E-Way Bill — Threshold, validity, exceptions, consequences of non-compliance
• Assessment and Audit — Scrutiny, self-assessment, best judgement
• Demand and recovery — Section 73 (non-fraud) and Section 74 (fraud/suppression)

TDS — The CS-Specific Tax Skill

TDS compliance is a core Company Secretary responsibility — CS professionals regularly review TDS deducted on director remuneration (Section 192), professional fees (194J), rent (194I), and contract payments (194C). Understanding not just the rates but the thresholds, the deposit timelines, the quarterly TDS return filing (Form 24Q, 26Q, 27Q), and the consequences of short deduction are directly relevant to secretarial compliance roles.