Tax Agent Re-registration: Is Your ITR Filing Safe?

CBDT has updated registration rules and forms for income-tax practitioners and valuers under the new Income-tax Act, 2025. The deadline to comply is March 31, 2027. If your tax professional doesn't re-register, they may lose the legal right to file returns on your behalf.

Here's what happened: CBDT revised registration forms — Form 169 for valuers and Form 171 for income-tax practitioners — under the Income-tax Act, 2025.. All tax practitioners and valuers must complete fresh registration under the updated framework; the compliance deadline is March 31, 2027.. Practitioners who miss the deadline risk losing their legal standing to file returns or represent taxpayers before income-tax authorities..

What you should do: Ask your CA or tax practitioner whether they have completed re-registration under the new Income-tax Act, 2025 forms before they file your next ITR.. If you use a small or informal tax agent (not a CA), verify their registration status directly on the income-tax e-filing portal before handing over your documents.. Consider keeping a digital receipt or acknowledgment from your tax professional confirming their registration is valid — store it alongside your ITR acknowledgment each year..

Even if your tax practitioner misses the deadline, you can still file your ITR yourself on the income-tax portal — self-filing is always available as a fallback and costs nothing.

For readers weighing their credit and loan options, our personal loan guide and CIBIL score resources put this update in context.