63,000 restaurants under income tax scanner: Saksham campaign urges ITR updates by March 31, 2026

The Income Tax Department recently announced that it has been investigating tax evasion trends in the food and beverage industry. During this investigation, they discovered that many restaurants are using tactics to show reduced sales, in turn lowering their income tax payments.

In a press release dated March 9, 2026, the tax department said: “The Income tax Department carried out investigation relating to the tax evasion pattern in the Food & Beverage sector in November 2025. During the exercise, it was found that several restaurants were engaged in deletion of bulk bills and other modifications to suppress the actual sales.”

What did Income Tax Department’s analysis find

According to the press release, advanced analytics of transactional data from about 1.77 lakh restaurants in the F&B sector was carried out using AI-enabled analytical tools. The data was compared with the turnover declared in their Income Tax Returns.


The Income Tax Department analysis revealed large-scale under-reporting of income. In some cases, recorded sales were not fully reflected in financial accounts or tax filings, and certain transactions were excluded from reported sales.

Consequently, on March 8, 2026, a nationwide survey was conducted on 62 restaurants across 46 cities in 22 States. On a preliminary basis, the exercise revealed suppression of sales amounting to almost Rs. 408 crore. Investigations are underway. The department continues to emphasise voluntary compliance and a trust-based approach.

Saksham Nudge

The Income Tax Department press release said that they have started the SAKSHAM NUDGE campaign to guide and advise taxpayers to correct their mistakes.

What to do?

The Income Tax Department said that taxpayers are being encouraged to file updated returns under Section 139(8A) of the Income Tax Act.

The Income Tax Department said: “In the first phase, emails and messages will be sent to the identified 63,000 restaurants, requesting them to update their returns before March 31, 2026.”

It must be noted that the Nudge campaign is not related to income tax notice. If you are sent a tax nudge under the Saksham campaign, then check your billing software at once to see if there is any modification for under-reporting of sales figures. If there is no under-reporting, then you may not take any action. If there is any under-reporting, then file an updated income tax return (ITR-U) and pay the appropriate penalty and income tax.

The reason for coming clean now is better because once the deadline to file ITR-U (March 31, 2026) is over, the Income Tax Department can enforce strict actions for undisclosed income.

Chartered Accountant Suresh Surana says that in cases where the income tax return (ITR) has already been filed, the taxpayer should cross-check the transactions mentioned in the email with the disclosures made in the return, and ensure that all income corresponding to such transactions has been duly reported. If any discrepancy or omission is identified, corrective action may be taken.

When can you file ITR-U?

Updated income tax return (ITR-U) can be filed within four years from the end of the relevant assessment year. For example: If you want to file ITR-U for AY 2025-26, then you can file ITR-U within March 31, 2030. Earlier the limits were two years from the end of the relevant assessment year. Budget 2026 amended the tax laws and increased the time limit to file ITR-U.