Form 36 Income Tax Rules 2026 pdf download and Key points
FORM NO. 36
[See rule 70]
Certificate under section 151(5) of the Act for authors of certain books in receipt of royalty income
Under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, Form No. 36 replaces the erstwhile Form 10CCD. It is governed by Section 151(5) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (which replaces the old Section 80QQB) and Rule 70 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
Here are all the key points regarding Form No. 36:
1. Purpose of the Form Form 36 is the prescribed statutory certificate used by an author to claim a tax deduction on royalty income, copyright fees, or lump-sum consideration received for the publication of a book.
2. Applicability (Who Should File) The form must be filed by any author who earns royalty or similar income from the authorship of scientific, literary, or artistic books (including books with ISBN numbers and similar publications) and intends to claim the deduction under Section 151(5).
3. Frequency and Due Date
- Due Date: The certificate must be filed electronically on or before the due date for filing the return of income prescribed under Section 263(1)(c) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
- Is it Mandatory? Yes, successfully filing this valid certificate within the specified time limit is a mandatory compliance requirement for claiming the tax deduction.
4. Structure of the Form The new Form 36 has been restructured into two distinct parts:
- Part A (Basic Details): Captures the Author’s Name, Address, Permanent Account Number (PAN), and the relevant Tax Year in which the deduction is being claimed. (Basic demographic details are pre-filled but can be updated by the user).
- Part B (Computation of Deduction): Captures specific details such as:
- Details of the Book (Title, Language, Type, ISBN).
- Details of the person paying the Royalty (Name, Address, PAN of the Publishing House).
- Details of books sold in India and outside India.
- Amounts receivable (lump-sum or otherwise) and amounts actually received in INR and foreign currency.
- Details of the amount brought into India in convertible foreign exchange.
- The final amount of deduction claimed (which is a mandatory field to fill).
5. Verification and Certification Process A unique feature of Form 36 is its dual-verification requirement:
- Self-Declaration by Author: The author making the claim must provide a self-declaration in Part B, affirming that the deduction claimed is correct and in accordance with Section 151.
- Certification by Publishing House: The specific details of the book and the royalty payments made to the author must be formally certified by the publishing house.
6. Mode of Filing and Prerequisites
- Online Only: Form 36 can only be submitted electronically through the Income Tax e-Filing portal; offline filing is not allowed.
- Mandatory PANs: The form cannot be submitted without the valid PAN of the Author. The PAN of the Publishing House is also required, and can only be left blank if the publisher is a foreign entity without an Indian PAN.
- No Edits Allowed: Once the form is validly submitted (after the author’s declaration and the publisher’s certification) and the acknowledgment is generated, it cannot be edited.
7. Mandatory Documents While it is not mandatory to attach any physical documents directly to the e-form during submission, the author and publisher must rely on the following documents to correctly fill out the form and compute the claim:
- The agreement between the author and the publisher.
- Royalty/fee statements and publication records (like ISBN copies).
- Bank advisories or Foreign Inward Remittance Certificates (FIRC) for foreign receipts.
- Approval of the competent authority for any extension of the period for bringing foreign remittances into India.