What is Form 168 (earlier Form 26AS) and AIS?
Reviewed by CA Apurav GargLast reviewed
In short
Form 168, which replaced Form 26AS from tax year 2026-27, is the annual statement on the income-tax portal showing tax deducted or collected against your PAN and taxes you paid. The AIS adds a wider view of reported income.
What it is
The income-tax department keeps a yearly statement for every PAN, built from what others report about you. Under the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026, this is Form 168. For financial years up to 2025-26 the same statement is Form 26AS, which stays available on the portal for those years.
It shows, among other things:
- TDS deducted from payments to you, including e-commerce TDS deducted by marketplaces;
- income-tax TCS collected from you;
- advance tax and self-assessment tax you paid;
- refunds, and some high-value transactions reported by banks and others.
Form 168 and the AIS
The Annual Information Statement (AIS) gives a wider view: interest, dividends, securities transactions, purchases and sales reported by others, and more. It helps you check your income before filing. Form 168 is the one to check for tax credits.
Why it matters for an ecommerce seller
Your credit for TDS is allowed on the basis of what appears in the statement. If a marketplace deducted TDS but filed its quarterly TDS statement late, or under the wrong PAN, the credit will be missing and your return will show tax payable or a smaller refund.
GST TCS collected by marketplaces is a GST matter. It appears on the GST portal, not in Form 168.
Routine
- Each quarter, after the marketplaces' TDS statement dates, download Form 168 and match it with your TDS receivable account.
- Write to the deductor about any gap, with the order period and amount.
- Before filing your return, match again and check the AIS for income you may have missed.
Example in rupees
Before filing its return, a seller compares its books with Form 168:
| Item | Books | Form 168 | Action |
|---|---|---|---|
| TDS by marketplace A | ₹42,000 | ₹42,000 | Matches; claim it |
| TDS by marketplace B | ₹18,500 | ₹15,000 | Ask marketplace B to correct its TDS statement for the missing ₹3,500 |
| TDS by a B2B customer on services | ₹6,000 | ₹6,000 | Matches; claim it |
| Advance tax paid | ₹1,50,000 | ₹1,50,000 | Matches |
Credit is allowed for what appears in Form 168, so the seller follows up the ₹3,500 before filing. GST TCS collected by the marketplaces does not appear here; it is checked on the GST portal. The figures are illustrative.
Legal reference: Income-tax Act, 2025: section 510; Income-tax Rules, 2026: rule 245 (Form 168); Income-tax Act, 1961: section 285BB (Form 26AS), for years up to 2025-26
Related terms
Work it out for your business
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We handle bookkeeping, reconciliation, GST and TDS for D2C and marketplace sellers, and can walk you through how this works in your business.
General information only, not professional advice. Rules and rates change — check the official source before you act.