Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live, machinery. Prescribes the persons competent to verify (sign) the return under section 115WD or section 139 — for individuals, HUF, company, firm, LLP, local authority, political party, association and others — and the order of precedence and contingencies (e.g. incapacity, non-residence, insolvency, winding-up).
FA 2026: No amendment by the Finance Act, 2026.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 140 identifies who may verify the return on behalf of each class of assessee — for an individual, the individual (or, in his absence/incapacity, a duly authorised person); for a company, the managing director (or a director / specified person where the MD is unable or there is no MD); for a firm, the managing partner; and so on. Verification is the assessee's solemn affirmation of the truth of the return and is the foundation on which the Department acts.
The recurring legal question is the consequence of a verification defect — a return signed by an unauthorised person or not verified at all. The settled position is that such a defect falls within section 139(9) (defective return) and is curable; it is an irregularity, not a nullity, provided the opportunity to cure is given. A return verified by a person not competent under section 140, if not cured, may be treated as invalid, but the Department cannot treat the defect as fatal without affording the opportunity. The verification requirement is, however, mandatory in substance: an unverified return is no return in the eye of law until cured.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced from the local Act (base text to the Finance Act, 2025).
(ii) where he is absent from India, by the individual himself or by some person duly authorised by him in this behalf;
(iii) where he is mentally incapacitated from attending to his affairs, by his guardian or any other person competent to act on his behalf; and
(iv) where, for any other reason, it is not possible for the individual to verify the return, by any person duly authorised by him in this behalf:
Provided that in a case referred to in sub-clause (ii) or sub-clause (iv), the person verifying the return holds a valid power of attorney from the individual to do so, which shall be attached to the return;
(b) in the case of a Hindu undivided family, by the karta, and, where the karta is absent from India or is mentally incapacitated from attending to his affairs, by any other adult member of such family;
(c) in the case of a company, by the managing director thereof, or where for any unavoidable reason such managing director is not able to verify the return, or where there is no managing director, by any director thereof or any other person, as may be prescribed for this purpose:
Provided that where the company is not resident in India, the return may be verified by a person who holds a valid power of attorney from such company to do so, which shall be attached to the return :
Provided further that,—
(a) where the company is being wound up, whether under the orders of a court or otherwise, or where any person has been appointed as the receiver of any assets of the company, the return shall be verified by the liquidator referred to in sub-section (1) of section 178;
(b) where the management of the company has been taken over by the Central Government or any State Government under any law, the return of the company shall be verified by the principal officer thereof; or
(c) where in respect of a company, an application for corporate insolvency resolution process has been admitted by the Adjudicating Authority under section 7 or section 9 or section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), the return shall be verified by the insolvency professional appointed by such Adjudicating Authority.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause the expressions "insolvency professional" and "Adjudicating Authority" shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in clause (18) of section 3 and clause (1) of section 5 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016);
(cc) in the case of a firm, by the managing partner thereof, or where for any unavoidable reason such managing partner is not able to verify the return, or where there is no managing partner as such, by any partner thereof, not being a minor;
(cd) in the case of a limited liability partnership, by the designated partner thereof, or where for any unavoidable reason such designated partner is not able to verify the return, or where there is no designated partner as such, by any partner thereof or any other person, as may be prescribed for this purpose;
(d) in the case of a local authority, by the principal officer thereof;
(dd) in the case of a political party referred to in sub-section (4B) of section 139, by the chief executive officer of such party (whether such chief executive officer is known as secretary or by any other designation);
(e) in the case of any other association, by any member of the association or the principal officer thereof; and
(f) in the case of any other person, by that person or by some person competent to act on his behalf.
C. AUTHORITIES
Direct Supreme Court authority on section 140 is sparse; the governing principles are drawn from the law on curable irregularities in assessment procedure.
1. Verification defects — irregularity, not nullity
CIT v. Jai Prakash Singh (1996) 219 ITR 737 (SC) — cognate
Court: Supreme Court of India.
Held: An assessment made without complying with a procedural requirement (there, assessment on legal representatives without notice to all of them) is an irregularity that does not render the assessment a nullity; such defects are curable and do not go to jurisdiction unless the statute so provides.
Relevance: Applied by analogy to section 140, a defect in verification (wrong signatory) is a curable irregularity falling within section 139(9), not a jurisdictional nullity, provided the assessee is given an opportunity to set it right.
Verification defect as a section 139(9) defect — principle
Position: A return that is not verified, or is verified by a person not authorised under section 140, is a defective return within the Explanation to section 139(9); the Assessing Officer must give an opportunity to cure, and only if uncured may the return be treated as invalid. Where the defect is cured, the return relates back and is valid.
Candour note: The proposition is supported by a consistent body of High Court and Tribunal authority rather than a single binding Supreme Court ruling squarely on section 140; it is reproduced as the settled working rule.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the local Act, base text amended up to the Finance Act, 2025), with the publisher's footnote apparatus and amendment-marker brackets removed; Finance Act, 2026 changes are flagged in the commentary. Citations are stated as reported; orders of the Tribunal, Authority for Advance Rulings and High Courts are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.
CHAPTER XIV — PROCEDURE FOR ASSESSMENT
Section 140 — Return by Whom to be Verified
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live, machinery. Prescribes the persons competent to verify (sign) the return under section 115WD or section 139 — for individuals, HUF, company, firm, LLP, local authority, political party, association and others — and the order of precedence and contingencies (e.g. incapacity, non-residence, insolvency, winding-up).
FA 2026: No amendment by the Finance Act, 2026.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
Section 140 identifies who may verify the return on behalf of each class of assessee — for an individual, the individual (or, in his absence/incapacity, a duly authorised person); for a company, the managing director (or a director / specified person where the MD is unable or there is no MD); for a firm, the managing partner; and so on. Verification is the assessee's solemn affirmation of the truth of the return and is the foundation on which the Department acts.
The recurring legal question is the consequence of a verification defect — a return signed by an unauthorised person or not verified at all. The settled position is that such a defect falls within section 139(9) (defective return) and is curable; it is an irregularity, not a nullity, provided the opportunity to cure is given. A return verified by a person not competent under section 140, if not cured, may be treated as invalid, but the Department cannot treat the defect as fatal without affording the opportunity. The verification requirement is, however, mandatory in substance: an unverified return is no return in the eye of law until cured.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced from the local Act (base text to the Finance Act, 2025).
140. The return under section 115WD or section 139 shall be verified—
(a) in the case of an individual,—
(i) by the individual himself;
(ii) where he is absent from India, by the individual himself or by some person duly authorised by him in this behalf;
(iii) where he is mentally incapacitated from attending to his affairs, by his guardian or any other person competent to act on his behalf; and
(iv) where, for any other reason, it is not possible for the individual to verify the return, by any person duly authorised by him in this behalf:
Provided that in a case referred to in sub-clause (ii) or sub-clause (iv), the person verifying the return holds a valid power of attorney from the individual to do so, which shall be attached to the return;
(b) in the case of a Hindu undivided family, by the karta, and, where the karta is absent from India or is mentally incapacitated from attending to his affairs, by any other adult member of such family;
(c) in the case of a company, by the managing director thereof, or where for any unavoidable reason such managing director is not able to verify the return, or where there is no managing director, by any director thereof or any other person, as may be prescribed for this purpose:
Provided that where the company is not resident in India, the return may be verified by a person who holds a valid power of attorney from such company to do so, which shall be attached to the return :
Provided further that,—
(a) where the company is being wound up, whether under the orders of a court or otherwise, or where any person has been appointed as the receiver of any assets of the company, the return shall be verified by the liquidator referred to in sub-section (1) of section 178;
(b) where the management of the company has been taken over by the Central Government or any State Government under any law, the return of the company shall be verified by the principal officer thereof; or
(c) where in respect of a company, an application for corporate insolvency resolution process has been admitted by the Adjudicating Authority under section 7 or section 9 or section 10 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), the return shall be verified by the insolvency professional appointed by such Adjudicating Authority.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this clause the expressions "insolvency professional" and "Adjudicating Authority" shall have the respective meanings assigned to them in clause (18) of section 3 and clause (1) of section 5 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016);
(cc) in the case of a firm, by the managing partner thereof, or where for any unavoidable reason such managing partner is not able to verify the return, or where there is no managing partner as such, by any partner thereof, not being a minor;
(cd) in the case of a limited liability partnership, by the designated partner thereof, or where for any unavoidable reason such designated partner is not able to verify the return, or where there is no designated partner as such, by any partner thereof or any other person, as may be prescribed for this purpose;
(d) in the case of a local authority, by the principal officer thereof;
(dd) in the case of a political party referred to in sub-section (4B) of section 139, by the chief executive officer of such party (whether such chief executive officer is known as secretary or by any other designation);
(e) in the case of any other association, by any member of the association or the principal officer thereof; and
(f) in the case of any other person, by that person or by some person competent to act on his behalf.
C. AUTHORITIES
Direct Supreme Court authority on section 140 is sparse; the governing principles are drawn from the law on curable irregularities in assessment procedure.
1. Verification defects — irregularity, not nullity
CIT v. Jai Prakash Singh (1996) 219 ITR 737 (SC) — cognate
Court: Supreme Court of India.
Held: An assessment made without complying with a procedural requirement (there, assessment on legal representatives without notice to all of them) is an irregularity that does not render the assessment a nullity; such defects are curable and do not go to jurisdiction unless the statute so provides.
Relevance: Applied by analogy to section 140, a defect in verification (wrong signatory) is a curable irregularity falling within section 139(9), not a jurisdictional nullity, provided the assessee is given an opportunity to set it right.
Verification defect as a section 139(9) defect — principle
Position: A return that is not verified, or is verified by a person not authorised under section 140, is a defective return within the Explanation to section 139(9); the Assessing Officer must give an opportunity to cure, and only if uncured may the return be treated as invalid. Where the defect is cured, the return relates back and is valid.
Candour note: The proposition is supported by a consistent body of High Court and Tribunal authority rather than a single binding Supreme Court ruling squarely on section 140; it is reproduced as the settled working rule.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the local Act, base text amended up to the Finance Act, 2025), with the publisher's footnote apparatus and amendment-marker brackets removed; Finance Act, 2026 changes are flagged in the commentary. Citations are stated as reported; orders of the Tribunal, Authority for Advance Rulings and High Courts are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.