Income-tax

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

Net direct tax collection for FY26 as of March 17 grew 7.19 per cent to ₹22.80 trillion, driven by higher corporate and non-corporate taxes

Companies must disclose exposure to Pillar Two income taxes under revised AS 22, while small and medium-sized firms are exempt from the new requirements

The National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (NCDRC) has directed Axis Bank to pay Rs 3.19 crore to a Delhi-based logistics company, holding the bank guilty of "deficiency in service" for refusing to accept demonetised currency notes for deposit during the 2016 demonetisation window. The commission, comprising presiding member AVM J Rajendra and judicial member Anoop Kumar Mendiratta, was hearing an appeal filed by Procure Logistics Services Pvt Ltd against the Axis Bank. In an order dated March 10, the commission said, "The bank clearly failed by repeatedly disallowing the complainant to deposit the notified cash into its own KYC-compliant account, despite multiple requests and persisted with this till the entire timeline lapses." It was alleged that the bank refused to accept the notes during the limited period allowed after the government announced demonetisation on November 8, 2016. The commission noted that nothing prevented the bank from accepting the cash and reportin

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

Income Tax Department has asked brokers to deposit excess securities transaction tax collected from clients for FY24 and earlier years along with interest

A data analytics-driven probe by the Income Tax Department has uncovered ₹4.08 billion in suppressed sales in the restaurant sector, prompting surveys across 46 cities nationwide

SC refused to examine a plea challenging Income Tax Act provisions permitting digital access during search operations, calling the concerns speculative and allowing withdrawal of the petition

E-commerce firm Meesho has received an income tax demand notice of around Rs 1,500 crore, including interest, which the company plans to contest, a recent company filing said. Meesho received the notice on March 6 for assessment year 2023-24. "The Assessment Unit of Income Tax Department has raised a tax demand aggregating to Rs 14,99,73,82,840, including applicable interest," the filing said. The filing said that the demand order is based on certain additions and adjustments to the income reported by the company. "The company is currently evaluating the Assessment Order and does not concur with the observations and adjustments made in the Assessment Order. The company believes that it has adequate legal and factual grounds to contest the same and is taking necessary steps to protect its interest," Meesho said. The e-commerce firm said that a similar demand order was issued for the assessment year 2022-23 as well, which it disclosed in detail in the prospectus filed on December 5,

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

The government has come out with draft income tax forms that seek disclosure of tenant-landlord relationship for claiming I-T deductions and increased responsibility of auditors and companies for tax credit claims on foreign income. The draft forms also propose to entrust auditors with greater responsibility for checking PAN duplication and tax liability arising out of adverse audit observation. The new Income Tax Act, 2025, which replaces the six-decade-old law, will come into effect from April 1, 2026. The government has circulated draft Rules and Forms for stakeholder consultation. The final Rules and Forms will be notified next month. The new Form 124 requires disclosure of a relationship, if any, between a tenant (assessee) and a landlord, which tax experts said could act as a meaningful deterrent against fictitious or inflated rental claims, as it introduces transparency at the first point of reporting itself. An assessee claiming House Rent Allowance (HRA) is required to su

ITC CMD Sanjiv Puri says government tax cuts and GST reductions are aiding consumption, as digitisation, rural demand and evolving GenZ and millennial preferences reshape FMCG growth

A Mumbai ITAT ruling allows full indexed cost of acquisition and Section 54 exemption on multiple floors received after redevelopment, offering significant relief to homeowners facing LTCG disputes

In this session, Richa Sawhney, Partner – Tax, Grant Thornton Bharat talks about the new tax rules, business implications and gives tips to students aspiring to be in tax advisory roles

In the tax return forms, more data will come pre-filled, but it should be verified against your own records to avoid mismatches

The Income Tax Department has, for the first time, issued a demand notice of Rs 4.62 crore to the Equestrian Federation of India for the assessment year 2024-25 under Section 156 of the Income-Tax Act, 1961, according to official documents. The notice, dated February 9, 2026, states that a sum of Rs 4,62,18,102 has been determined as payable by the federation for the assessment year 2024-25. As per the notice, which is in possession of PTI, the amount is to be paid within 30 days of service to an authorised bank. According to correspondence from EFI's Chartered Accountant to the federation's office-bearers, certain compliance documents -- including a Non-Utilisation/Accumulation Certificate -- were required to be signed and furnished to enable submission before the Income Tax Department. A final accumulation certificate has also been prepared in connection with the matter but EFI Secretary General Col Jaiveer Singh told PTI that delays by the EFI Executive Committee in completing .

More than 24.6 lakh income tax returns for AY 2025-26 remain pending for over 90 days. Should taxpayers worry?

In the Union Budget 2022-23, the government clearly defined VDAs such as cryptocurrencies and NFTs under the Income Tax Act for the first time

The tax department has proposed a major redesign of 30 high-volume income-tax forms to reduce duplication, simplify compliance and support a data-driven regime under the new law