Hi everyone,
Looking for informed views from CAs / experienced filers.
**Facts:**
\- Resident individual (India)
\- Salary income \~₹60L (new tax regime)
\- Traded Gold & Silver futures (MCX) during the year
\- F&O trading started mid-year (Oct)
\- Non-speculative business income
\- Turnover within 44AD limits
\- Broker P&L fully reflected in AIS/TIS
Question:
**There seems to be conflicting guidance online.**
Some platforms (ClearTax, Tax2Win, Groww, Quicko) say
non-speculative F&O traders \*may\* opt for Section 44AD.
**Others say:**
\- ITR-3 with actual profit is safer
\- 44AD, while not expressly barred, increases scrutiny risk
especially for high-salary taxpayers.
I’m not looking to under-report income or evade tax.
**I want to understand:**
**1) Is 44AD \*legally defensible\* for F&O/commodity derivatives?**
**2) In practice, do AOs challenge it for salaried individuals with high income?**
**3) Would you personally recommend ITR-3 over 44AD in such a case?**
Looking for experience-based inputs, not generic blog summaries.
Thanks in advance.