Schedule III Profit and Loss Format (Division I)
By Sudheer Lokanadham, Chartered Accountant · Updated 07/07/2026 · 7 min read
The Schedule III profit and loss format (Division I) is the presentation format prescribed for the Statement of Profit and Loss of a company under the Companies Act, 2013, where the company follows Accounting Standards (AS). It is a single vertical statement that runs from Revenue from operations and Other income, through a set of classified expenses, down to Profit before tax, tax expense, the profit for the period and Earnings per equity share — all with a comparative previous-year column and supporting notes.
The full Statement of Profit and Loss format
This is the complete statement with every optional line present — exceptional, extraordinary and prior-period items, and discontinuing operations. Each lettered line cross-refers to a note; both a current-year and a previous-year column are presented.
| Particulars | Note | Year ended 31 March 20X2 | Year ended 31 March 20X1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Revenue from Operations | xxx | xxx | |
| II. Other Income | xxx | xxx | |
| III. Total Income (I + II) | xxx | xxx | |
| IV. Expenses | |||
| (a) Cost of Materials Consumed | xxx | xxx | |
| (b) Purchases of Stock-in-Trade | xxx | xxx | |
| (c) Changes in Inventories of FG/WIP/Stock-in-Trade | xxx | xxx | |
| (d) Employee Benefits Expense | xxx | xxx | |
| (e) Finance Costs | xxx | xxx | |
| (f) Depreciation and Amortisation Expense | xxx | xxx | |
| (g) Other Expenses | xxx | xxx | |
| Total Expenses | xxx | xxx | |
| V. Profit/(Loss) before Exceptional and Extraordinary Items and Tax (III - IV) | xxx | xxx | |
| VI. Exceptional Items | xxx | xxx | |
| VII. Profit/(Loss) before Extraordinary Items and Tax | xxx | xxx | |
| VIII. Extraordinary Items | xxx | xxx | |
| IX. Prior Period Items | xxx | xxx | |
| X. Profit/(Loss) before Tax | xxx | xxx | |
| XI. Tax Expense | xxx | xxx | |
| (a) Current Tax | xxx | xxx | |
| (b) Deferred Tax | xxx | xxx | |
| (c) Tax for Earlier Years | xxx | xxx | |
| XII. Profit/(Loss) from Continuing Operations (after tax) | xxx | xxx | |
| XIII. Profit/(Loss) from Discontinuing Operations | xxx | xxx | |
| XIV. Tax Expense of Discontinuing Operations | xxx | xxx | |
| XV. Profit/(Loss) from Discontinuing Operations (after tax) | xxx | xxx | |
| XVI. Profit/(Loss) for the year | xxx | xxx | |
| XVII. Earnings Per Share (face value Rs. 10) | |||
| (a) Basic (Rs.) | xxx | xxx | |
| (b) Diluted (Rs.) | xxx | xxx |
What most private companies actually print
With no exceptional, extraordinary, prior-period or discontinuing items — the common case — the same statement collapses to this:
| Particulars | Note | Year ended 31 March 20X2 | Year ended 31 March 20X1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| I. Revenue from Operations | xxx | xxx | |
| II. Other Income | xxx | xxx | |
| III. Total Income (I + II) | xxx | xxx | |
| IV. Expenses | |||
| (a) Cost of Materials Consumed | xxx | xxx | |
| (b) Purchases of Stock-in-Trade | xxx | xxx | |
| (c) Changes in Inventories of FG/WIP/Stock-in-Trade | xxx | xxx | |
| (d) Employee Benefits Expense | xxx | xxx | |
| (e) Finance Costs | xxx | xxx | |
| (f) Depreciation and Amortisation Expense | xxx | xxx | |
| (g) Other Expenses | xxx | xxx | |
| Total Expenses | xxx | xxx | |
| V. Profit/(Loss) before Tax (III - IV) | xxx | xxx | |
| VI. Tax Expense | xxx | xxx | |
| (a) Current Tax | xxx | xxx | |
| (b) Deferred Tax | xxx | xxx | |
| (c) Tax for Earlier Years | xxx | xxx | |
| VII. Profit/(Loss) for the year | xxx | xxx | |
| VIII. Earnings Per Share (face value Rs. 10) | |||
| (a) Basic (Rs.) | xxx | xxx | |
| (b) Diluted (Rs.) | xxx | xxx |
How to prepare a Schedule III profit and loss, step by step
- Start from a finalised, tallied Trial Balance for the financial year.
- Separate operating income (Revenue from operations) from incidental income (Other income).
- Classify every expense ledger into the seven prescribed expense heads — build the cost of goods sold from materials consumed, purchases of stock-in-trade and the inventory change.
- Compute profit before exceptional and extraordinary items and tax, then apply exceptional items, extraordinary items and tax.
- Split tax expense into current tax and deferred tax, and present the profit for the period.
- Compute basic and diluted EPS and present them on the face; prepare the supporting notes and the comparative previous-year column.
- Round off the figures per the turnover-based rounding rules and present them consistently.
Quick reference: where common items go
| Item | Line |
|---|---|
| Sale of goods / services | Revenue from operations |
| Interest on fixed deposits | Other income |
| Raw materials consumed | Cost of materials consumed |
| Traded goods bought for resale | Purchases of Stock-in-Trade |
| Increase / decrease in closing stock | Changes in inventories |
| Salaries, wages, PF, gratuity | Employee benefits expense |
| Interest on borrowings | Finance costs |
| Depreciation on PPE | Depreciation and amortisation expense |
| Rent, power, audit fees, misc. | Other expenses |
Related formats and guides
The Statement of Profit and Loss is one half of the statutory set — see the Schedule III balance sheet format for the other. For the end-to-end workflow, read turning a Trial Balance into financial statements; for what goes into the notes, see notes to financial statements; and for the eleven ratios you must disclose, see the Schedule III financial ratios guide. LLPs use the ICAI LLP format and proprietorships, firms and trusts use the ICAI Non-Corporate Entity format.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Schedule III profit and loss format?
It is the prescribed vertical format for the Statement of Profit and Loss of a company under the Companies Act, 2013. Division I applies to companies that follow Accounting Standards (AS). It runs from Revenue from operations and Other income down through the classified expenses to Profit before tax, tax expense, Profit for the period and, on the face of the statement, Earnings per equity share (basic and diluted).
What is the difference between “Revenue from operations” and “Other income”?
Revenue from operations is income from the company’s principal, revenue-generating activities — sale of products, sale of services and other operating revenues (net of returns and, where applicable, excise/GST as prescribed). Other income is income that is incidental to the business, such as interest income, dividend income and net gain on sale of investments. The two are shown as separate lines and add up to Total Income.
Does the Schedule III format have a single “Cost of goods sold” line?
No. Division I does not present a single COGS line. Instead the cost of goods sold is built from three separate expense lines — Cost of materials consumed, Purchases of Stock-in-Trade, and Changes in inventories of finished goods, work-in-progress and Stock-in-Trade — which are shown individually under Expenses.
Is Earnings per share shown on the face of the P&L?
Yes. For companies, basic and diluted Earnings per equity share must be presented on the face of the Statement of Profit and Loss (as required by AS-20), computed for continuing operations and for total operations where there are discontinuing operations. It is not merely a note.
How are exceptional and extraordinary items presented?
Exceptional items are shown as a separate line after Profit before exceptional and extraordinary items and tax. Extraordinary items are shown after Profit before extraordinary items and tax. Both are disclosed distinctly so a reader can see profit before and after these items, with the nature of each disclosed in the notes.
Skip the manual formatting
LaziLeo turns your Trial Balance into these statements automatically — Schedule III, LLP and ICAI Non-Corporate formats, ready for your review and sign-off.