Time for comments on redrafting direct tax laws extended till June 15

The finance ministry has extended the deadline till June 15 for stakeholder comments on redrafting of the Income Tax law.

The government had last week extended the term by three months, till August end, of the direct tax task force chaired by CBDT member Arvind Modi.

"The term of the Task Force has been extended by a period of three months. Accordingly, the date for sending suggestions/ feedback is extended to June 15, 2018," the ministry said in a statement.

The panel was set up to draft a new law to replace the existing Income Tax Act, which has been in force since 1961.

The panel had in March invited stakeholder comments till April 2. It had sought feedback on people's experience of filing income returns on the I-T portal as well as scrutiny procedure and levy of penalty.

In November 2017, the government had constituted a six-member task force under CBDT Member Arbind Modi to draft a new direct tax law to replace the existing Income Tax Act, which has been in force since 1961.

Suggestions and feedback from the stakeholders and the general public were invited through e-mail at rewriting-itact@gov.in.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, during the annual conference of tax officers in September last year, had observed that the Income Tax Act, 1961 was drafted more than 50 years ago and it needs to be redrafted.