Chartered Accountant · ICAI M.No. 153926 · FRN 136869W
Different laws, different purpose
Statutory = Companies Act, truth-and-fairness. Tax = Income-tax Act, tax compliance particulars (Form 3CD).
You may need both
A company over the 44AB limit files a statutory audit and a tax audit; the tax audit then uses Form 3CA (since already audited).
How they fit together in practice
For a company over the ₹1 crore limit, both audits usually happen together: the same CA completes the statutory audit, forms the true-and-fair opinion, and then signs the tax audit in Form 3CA with the Form 3CD particulars attached. A proprietor or firm under no other law has only the tax audit, in Form 3CB-3CD, if turnover crosses the threshold. The statutory audit is about the financial statements; the tax audit is about tax-specific disclosures the department wants — depreciation, disallowances, TDS, cash dealings and the like. Knowing which you need avoids both under-compliance and paying for an audit you don’t require. A small company under ₹1 crore needs only the statutory audit; cross the limit and the tax audit is added on the same financials, so the cost of the second audit is modest once the books are already audited.