CBDT

New Income-tax Rules, 2026 introduce a single registration form and cut record retention to six years, reducing compliance burden for charitable trusts and non-profits

New rules expand HRA benefits to more cities, clarify EV taxation, tighten reporting norms and streamline transfer pricing and foreign tax credit processes

Central Board of Direct Taxes on Friday notified the rules for Income-tax Act, 2025 which provided enhanced tax benefit for HRA to salary earner but makes disclosure of landlord-tenant relationship mandatory. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 will operationalise the simplified direct tax legislation that was approved by Parliament last year and will come into effect from April 1. "These rules may be called the Income-tax Rules, 2026. They shall come into force on the April 1, 2026," a gazette notification said. Parliament on August 12, 2025 passed a new Income Tax Bill to replace the six-decade-old Income Tax Act, 1961. It does not impose any new tax rate and only simplified the language, which was required for understanding the complex Income Tax laws. The Act has removed redundant provisions and archaic language and reduces the number of Sections from 819 in the Income Tax Act of 1961 to 536 and the number of chapters from 47 to 23. The number of words had been reduced from 5.12 lakh t

Finance panel notes rising delays in income tax refunds beyond the 90-day norm and flags a surge in outstanding direct tax arrears

From January 2026, crypto-assets, CBDCs and electronic money products will fall under India's expanded FATCA-CRS reporting regime, strengthening tax transparency and compliance

CBDT chief Ravi Agrawal said the new Income Tax Act, effective April 2026, will create a rule-based, AI-enabled tax ecosystem aimed at reducing disputes, improving certainty and enhancing compliance

Net direct tax collections grow 9.4% to Rs 19.43 trillion till February 10 in FY26, aided by moderation in refunds, CBDT provisional data shows

New rules likely to be notified by March 1st week

The draft norms reduce delegated legislation, with their number proposed to be cut to 333 from 511

Draft rules and forms placed in public domain for 15 days as part of preparatory work for implementation of Income-tax Act, 2025 from April 2026

Draft rules and forms under the Income Tax Act, 2025 are set to be released this week, ahead of a phased transition from the 1961 law starting April 1

Budget tax reforms aim to simplify compliance as 86% of individuals shift to the new tax regime ahead of the new Income Tax Act rollout, says Agrawal

As many as 88 per cent of individual taxpayers have moved to the new tax regime and the government is not thinking of bringing in a sunset clause for filing income tax returns under the old regime, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal said on Wednesday. He said selecting a particular tax regime is the choice of the taxpayers, but the response to the new regime has been "very good". "I can tell you that when ITR 1, 2, 3 and 4 are taken together (income tax return forms used by individuals), about 88 per cent of people have moved to the new tax regime. "And insofar as presumptive tax cases, about 97 per cent of the taxpayers have moved to the new tax regime. For corporates, about 60 per cent of the income is now being reflected in the new tax regime," Agrawal told PTI during a post-Budget interview. We believe, he said, with the new MAT (minimum alternate tax) provisions coming in the FY27 Budget, "it will also persuade people to move to the new tax regime". MAT, meant only for companies, is

LTIMindtree sees strong growth visibility as a robust pipeline of renewals and AI-native deals spills into next fiscal, even amid an unchanged macro environment

CBDT to adjust ₹968 crore tax withheld on Tiger Global's Flipkart exit after Supreme Court upheld India's right to tax the transaction

The seven-year contract will modernise India's national tax analytics platform using AI, digital architecture and data analytics to deliver real-time insights for policymakers, the company said

CBDT is reaching out via SMS and email under its NUDGE campaign, urging identified taxpayers to review potentially ineligible deductions for AY 2025-26 and revise returns by December 31, 2025

Chairman Ravi Agarwal says the department expects to meet its ₹25.2 trillion direct tax goal for FY26, with refunds slowing due to verification of incorrect claims and a dip in filings this year

Starting January 2026, the CBDT will conduct nationwide awareness and training programmes to familiarise taxpayers with the new Income Tax Act, 2025, which comes into effect on April 1, 2026.

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