Income Tax Act

CBDT confident of meeting FY26 tax target; refund checks slowing outflows

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

Hidden data abroad? Corporate law now lets tax officers access it fully

Under the new Income Tax Act 2025, tax officers get wider powers from April 2026, allowing them to question anyone with access to records during searches

Explainer: Difference between Section 44AD and Section 44ADA of I-T Act

The confusion usually arises because both sections are about presumptive taxation, but their applicability is different

Simple language, lucid, says FM as Parliament passes Income Tax Bill, 2025

Opposition members staged a walkout in the Rajya Sabha during the discussion, mirroring their protest in the Lok Sabha on Monday

Income Tax Bill 2025: Key changes for property owners, taxpayers, investors

Income Tax New Bill 2025: The revised Income Tax Bill, 2025 replaces last week's withdrawn draft, bringing clearer property rules, new slabs, higher rebates and fixes for refund claims

Less discretion needed: Transfer-pricing proposal may lead to litigation

Indeed, in some cases additional discretionary powers will be granted by some proposed changes.

Income Tax dept working on rules for new direct tax law: CBDT chief

The chairperson of the Central Board of Direct Taxes said the department is aligning its enforcement approach with a principle of "empathy", aiming to improve voluntary compliance

Bet value doesn't qualify as income under I-T Act: Egaming firms to SC

Online gaming firms tell the Supreme Court that bet money placed by users in online real-money games should not be considered taxable income under the Income Tax Act

Startups face I-T department heat over funding through Singapore

Showcause notices issued to startups under Section 68 for capital raised over the past five years, demanding documentation on foreign investments

I-T Bill may not impact revenue collection: MoS finance Pankaj Chaudhary

The Bill retains existing technological reforms, including initiatives such as pre-filled income tax returns (ITRs), the Annual Information Statement, and faceless proceedings

Social media accounts accessed only in search, survey ops: I-T official

The new Income Tax Bill prescribes the existing process for tax authorities to gain access to the digital space or a computer device only during search and survey operations, and it is not aimed to breach the online privacy of common taxpayers even if their case lands into scrutiny, a top I-T department official said Monday. The powers for such a coercive action "already existed" in the 1961 Act, and these have only been reiterated in the Income Tax Bill of 2025, he said. The official rejected claims made in some reports and opinion pieces that the tax authorities have been granted "additional" powers to breach the passwords of electronic records, including email, social media handles and Cloud storage space of the taxpayers. "Such reports are nothing but fear mongering. The tax department is not into snooping of social media accounts or online activities of a taxpayer. "These powers are only to be executed during the course of a search or survey operation, and that too when the ..

Over 30k taxpayers declare foreign assets worth ₹29k cr in CBDT's campaign

Over 30,000 taxpayers have revised their I-T returns or filed belated returns and declared additional foreign assets and income of more than Rs 30,000 crore, Government sources said on Thursday. In line with its 'trust-first' approach, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) had on November 16 last year, launched an awareness campaign under which messages were sent to taxpayers who had not disclosed high-value foreign income or assets in their ITRs for AY 2024-25. SMSes and emails were sent to 19,501 taxpayers with high foreign account balances or significant foreign income from interest or dividends above a specified threshold. These communications requested taxpayers to revise their Income Tax Returns (ITRs) to reflect their foreign assets and income accurately. Sources said 24,678 taxpayers reviewed their ITRs and 5,483 taxpayers filed belated returns for AY 2024-25, declaring foreign assets worth Rs 29,208 crore and additional foreign income of Rs 1,089.88 crore. Also, 6,734

Experts intrigued by inclusion of electoral bonds in new Income-Tax Bill

Experts are intrigued by the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 retaining provisions related to electoral bonds, which were rendered unconstitutional by the Supreme Court last year, saying it could be because of legislative oversight or the government's intention to bring it back in some other form. Electoral bonds have been mentioned in the new Income Tax Bill's Schedule VIII which deals with 'Income not to be included in the total income of political parties and electoral trusts'. In a judgement passed on February 15 last year, the Supreme Court had scrapped the Centre's electoral bonds scheme of anonymous political funding, calling it "unconstitutional" as it was "violative" of the right to freedom of speech and expression and right to information. Under the existing Income Tax Act, 1961, donations received from companies and individuals through electoral bonds are exempt in the hands of political parties. The government has brought in a new Income Tax Bill to replace the 64-year old I-T

ICSI, ICMAI demand expansion of accountant's definition in I-T Bill

Apex bodies of company secretaries and cost accountants have urged the government to include these professionals under the definition of 'accountant' in the Income Tax Bill, 2025. The Institute of Company Secretaries of India (ICSI) and the Institute of Cost Accountants of India (ICMAI), both set up under Acts of Parliament, have demanded that their members be treated as accountant in the bill. They come under the corporate affairs ministry. ICSI has around 75,000 members while ICMAI has about 1 lakh members. In a release on Monday, ICSI said that company secretaries should be included in the definition of 'accountant' as outlined in Section 515(3)(b) of the bill. "The omission is seen as a missed opportunity in recognising company secretary's vital role in the financial and compliance landscape of the country," the release said. According to the institute, it remains committed to advocating for the recognition of company secretaries as integral professionals in the taxation syste

The new Income Tax Bill FAQs: I-T department answers key questions

The simplified Income Tax Bill, which is half the size of the 1961 Income Tax Act, seeks to achieve tax certainty by minimising the scope of litigation and fresh interpretation, the Income Tax department said on Thursday. The new bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha, has a word count of 2.6 lakh, lower than 5.12 lakh in the I-T Act. The number of sections is 536, as against 819 effective sections in the existing law. The number of chapters has also been halved to 23 from 47, according to the FAQ issued by the I-T department. The Income Tax Bill 2025, has 57 tables, compared to 18 in the existing Act and removed 1,200 provisos and 900 explanations. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, while introducing the Bill in the Lok Sabha, had said that "substantial changes" have been made in the Bill. The number of words have been halved from 5.12 lakh, and sections reduced from 819 to 236. Following introduction, the Bill was referred to the select committee of the Lok Sabha and mandated to sub

Income Tax Bill 2025 to replace 1961 Act, introduces concept of 'tax year'

Deductions from salaries, such as standard deduction, gratuity, and leave encashment, have now been consolidated in one section instead of being scattered across various sections

Govt lists Income-Tax Bill, 2025 for introduction in Lok Sabha on Feb 13

The government has listed a bill to consolidate and amend the law relating to income-tax for introduction in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. According to the agenda circulated by the Lok Sabha secretariat on Wednesday, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will introduce the Income-Tax Bill, 2025. The much-anticipated Bill will replace terminologies like assessment and previous year with easier to understand 'tax year' as part of move to simplify language while removing provisos and explanations.

New Income Tax Bill vs Old: Increased sections, fewer pages, easier words

While the new Income Tax Bill does not appear to bring in major policy changes, it introduces several structural and linguistic adjustments aimed at simplifying tax laws

New Income Tax Bill 2025 proposes 'tax year' concept, easier terminologies

The new legislation will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961. Once passed, it will be called the Income Tax Act, 2025

Income Tax Bill 2025: Deductions on salaries, pension & gratuity explained

The Bill proposes a revised tax structure for individuals, Hindu undivided families, and certain associations