Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

As a Chartered Accountancy practice providing taxation, audit, GST, payroll, and corporate regulatory services, Bhavik Nathwani & Associates collects necessary financial and personal information directly provided by clients, including:

• Identity & Demographic Data: Full Name, Permanent Account Number (PAN), Aadhaar Number (strictly masked/verified as per statutory norms), Passport details (for NRI clients), and Director Identification Number (DIN).
• Financial & Accounting Records: Bank account statements, profit and loss statements, balance sheets, purchase/sales invoices, Form 16/16A, Form 26AS, AIS/TIS records, and capital gain summaries.
• Corporate & Business Information: Certificate of Incorporation, Memorandum & Articles of Association (MOA/AOA), GSTIN credentials, and payroll registers.
• Technical & Telemetry Data: IP address, browser type, and interaction cookies collected strictly to secure online sessions and prevent fraudulent submissions.

2. Purpose of Data Processing

We process your personal and business financial information exclusively for legitimate professional purposes, including:

• Preparation, electronic computation, and authorized e-filing of Income Tax Returns (ITR) with the Income Tax Department of India.
• Monthly and annual Goods & Services Tax (GST) returns filing and input tax credit (ITC) reconciliation.
• Statutory, internal, and tax audits in accordance with the Standards on Auditing (SAs) issued by the ICAI.
• Corporate ROC filings, secretarial compliance, and business registrations with the Ministry of Corporate Affairs (MCA).
• Providing tailored financial advisory, tax planning simulations, and responding to tax department scrutiny notices.

3. ICAI Ethical Standards & Client Privilege

Bhavik Nathwani & Associates strictly operates under the Code of Ethics mandated by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI). Under these professional bylaws:

• All client communications, records, and financial disclosures enjoy strict professional confidentiality.
• We do not sell, rent, commercialize, or share client information with any commercial third-party marketing networks under any circumstance.
• Information is shared with statutory authorities (such as the Income Tax Department, GST Department, MCA, or RBI) only when specifically authorized by the client or legally mandated by Indian courts or statutory law.

4. Data Security & Encryption Protocols

We implement multi-layered physical, technical, and organizational security measures to protect your sensitive financial records:

• Transit Encryption: All website interactions and document submissions are encrypted using TLS 1.3 with 256-bit cryptographic ciphers.
• At-Rest Encryption: Client ledgers, scanned documents, and return archives are stored in encrypted digital vaults with role-based access control.
• Anti-Abuse Protection: Automated bot protection and rate limiting via Cloudflare Turnstile to prevent unauthorized credential enumeration.

5. Cookies & Consent Management

Our website utilizes cookies to ensure platform stability, remember UI preferences (such as dark/light theme), and analyze anonymous traffic trends:

• Essential Cookies: Required for CSRF security validation, theme memory, and cookie preference storage. These cannot be switched off.
• Analytics Cookies: Anonymized aggregated metrics to improve user interface speed and tool usability.
• Consent Control: You can manage or revoke your cookie choices at any time via our persistent Cookie Consent Dialog or through your browser settings.

6. Compliance with India's DPDP Act 2023

In accordance with the Digital Personal Data Protection Act 2023 (DPDP Act) and the Information Technology Act 2000, clients hold full rights regarding their personal data:

• Right to Access: You may request a comprehensive summary of all personal data held by our firm.
• Right to Rectification: You may ask us to update or rectify outdated or inaccurate personal information.
• Right to Erasure: You may request data deletion, subject to mandatory statutory retention laws imposed by the Income Tax Act (which requires preserving return records for up to 7–10 assessment years).

7. Document Retention Policy

In compliance with Section 149 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, and Section 36 of the CGST Act, 2017, books of accounts, tax returns, computation sheets, and audit working papers are safely preserved for the statutorily mandated duration (minimum 6 to 8 financial years from the relevant assessment year). After the expiry of the statutory period, documents are securely archived or expunged.

8. Grievance Officer & Inquiries

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please contact our designated Grievance Officer: