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Pathak Associates

Pricing

Why there is no price list on this site

There is no price list on this site because two people asking for the same service rarely need the same work — one salaried return is a Form 16 and twenty minutes, another has capital gains across two brokers and a house sold mid-year. A published price would be wrong for one of them and usually both. Instead you get a fixed quote for your own situation before any work begins, and it does not move afterwards.

How the price is actually set

It follows the work: how many income sources there are, whether books have to be reconstructed, whether a return has to be defended as well as filed, and how much of it needs a chartered accountant rather than a tax consultant. Those are the things that make one engagement take an afternoon and another take three weeks.

We ask the two or three questions that decide it rather than sending a long form. Most of the time we can quote from a short description and a couple of follow-ups.

What fixed actually means

The quote is for the scope described in it. If the scope turns out to be different — a year of missing books nobody mentioned, a second GSTIN that did not come up — we say so before doing the work and requote, rather than doing it and invoicing more.

What does not happen is a price that grows because the work turned out to be normal. Normal is what the quote was for.

Why you cannot see prices before you ask

Because you would be reading somebody else's price. A headline figure attracts the simplest cases and then excludes yours in a footnote, which is how most published tax pricing works and why it is worth so little.

The trade is one conversation. In exchange you get a number that applies to your actual situation, which is the only number worth having.

What is never charged for

A first conversation, however long it takes to work out what you need. A quote. And a notice on a return we filed — thirty years of notice work is the reason the firm exists, and it is not a moment to hand you a fresh invoice.

One thing worth separating

You will find a great many rupee figures on this site — the ₹40 lakh GST threshold, the ₹5,000 under section 234F, the ₹100-a-day filing penalty. Those are statutory amounts set by Parliament and the rules made under it, and each one carries the provision it comes from. None of them is our fee, and our fee is not anywhere on this site.

Questions people ask about this

Why will you not just publish a starting price?
Because a starting price is a price for the simplest possible version of the work, and almost nobody has that version. It would set an expectation we would then have to walk back for most people, which is worse than not setting it.
Is the first conversation really free?
Yes, and so is the quote. Nothing is charged before you have accepted one, and there is no follow-up if you decide against it.
Can the price change after I accept?
Only if the scope turns out to be materially different from what was described — a year of missing books, an entity nobody mentioned. In that case we tell you before doing the work and requote. It does not change because the work took longer than we expected.
Do I pay before or after the work?
That depends on the engagement and is stated in the quote. Where a payment is due, the portal shows what is owed and against what, and an invoice is raised for it.
What if I only want advice, not a filing?
That is a quotable engagement too. Tell us what the question is and we will price the work of answering it properly, which for anything involving a notice or a structure decision is usually the most valuable thing we do.

Get the number that applies to you

The conversation and the quote both cost nothing, and nothing is payable until you accept one.

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