New I-T Bill more complicated than previous one: Congress MP Manish Tewari

Congress MP Manish Tewari on Thursday criticized the new Income Tax Bill, arguing that, contrary to Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman's claims, the proposed legislation is more complex than the existing one.

"The Union Finance Minister had said that the new Income Tax Bill will be simpler than the previous bill. In the previous Bill, there were 296 sections. In the new Bill, there are more than 500 sections. In the previous Bill, there were 5 schedules. In the new Bill, there are 14 schedules," Tewari told ANI.

"The bill, which should have been more simple than the previous one, is more complicated," he added.

The new Income Tax Bill is set to be introduced in the Lok Sabha on Thursday.

The Centre is keen on detailed consultations, and the bill is expected to be referred to a Select Committee for further examination.

The Union Cabinet last week cleared the new Income Tax bill.

Sitharaman had indicated earlier that the bill would be sent to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny. "The process is the committee gives its recommendations, it comes back, and then the government, through the Cabinet, takes a call whether these amendments are to be taken in," she had said.

In the July 2024 Budget, the government proposed a comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, of 1961. The purpose was to make the Act concise and lucid and reduce disputes and litigation.

Sitharaman had said in her budget speech on February 1 that the bill will be soon introduced in Parliament.

"Over the past 10 years, our Government has implemented several reforms for the convenience of taxpayers, such as (1) faceless assessment, (2) taxpayers charter, (3) faster returns, (4) almost 99 per cent returns being on selfassessment, and (5) Vivad se Vishwas scheme. Continuing these efforts, I reaffirm the commitment of the tax department to trust first, scrutinize later. I also propose to introduce the new income-tax bill next week," she said in the budget speech.