CBDT Urges 63,000 Restaurants to Update Returns Before March 31 under ‘Saksham NUDGE’ Campaign

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) under the Ministry of Finance (Department of Revenue) has released a press release dated March 09, 2026, disclosing that the Income Tax Department had carried out an investigation in November 2025 concerning a tax evasion pattern discovered in Food and Beverages sector. During the process, the tax authorities observed that in order to hide actual sales, numerous restaurants were found to be involved in the deletion of bulk bills and making other changes.

The tax department used AI-enabled analytical tools to examine transactional data collected from approximately 1.77 lakh restaurants in the F&B sector. The data was thereafter compared with the total turnover disclosed by them in their income tax returns (ITRs). The analysis concluded that several companies in the sector had under-reported their income. Some had not completely reflected their recorded sales in financial accounts or tax filings; some transactions were not even included in reported sales.

On March 08, 2026, the tax authorities had conducted a nationwide survey in 62 restaurants spread over 46 cities across 22 states. Initial findings concluded that these restaurants may have hidden sales worth about Rs 408 crores. Further investigations are currently in progress.

The tax department has launched a campaign called Saksham NUDGE. Through this campaign, the department is trying to provide taxpayers guidelines and advice regarding how to correct their mistakes. Taxpayers are being advised to furnish an updated return under Section 139(8A) of the Income Tax Act. Under the campaign, these 63000 discovered restaurants will be first sent emails and messages in the first phase, asking them to update their tax returns before the statutory deadline, i.e., March 31, 2026, in order to be safe from the issuance of tax notices and other litigations.