Income Tax Collection

Best of BS Opinion: RBI faces twin inflation risks as uncertainty swirls

Today's Opinion highlights the RBI's policy choices, soaring IPL franchise valuations, fiscal challenges, climate targets and a timely examination of contemporary China

Income Tax Dept enables online ITR-2 filing for AY27; deadline July 31

The Income Tax Department on Wednesday enabled online filing of ITR-2 for the assessment year 2026-27 on the e-filing portal. "Online filing and Excel utility for ITR-2 for AY 2026-27 are now enabled on the e-filing portal," the I-T Department said in a post on X. ITR-2 is filed by individuals and HUFs who do not earn any income from business or profession, but have receipts from capital gains. The department had, on May 15, enabled online filing of ITR-1 and ITR-4, which are filed by small and medium taxpayers, for the assessment year 2026-27. These forms for filing ITRs for income earned in the 2025-26 fiscal were notified on March 30. With online filing and the Excel utility now enabled, assessees can now start filing tax returns. The last date for filing income tax returns by individual taxpayers in ITR-1 and ITR-2 is July 31, while for non-audit taxpayers filing ITR-4, the deadline is August 31.

Dhoni highest taxpayer in Bihar-Jharkhand as I-T collections hit ₹20,000 cr

Mahendra Singh Dhoni was the highest individual taxpayer across Bihar and Jharkhand during the financial year 2025-26, even as the Income Tax Department collected around ₹20,000 crore from two states

Govt exceeds FY26 indirect tax collection estimates of ₹15.52 trillion

The government has marginally exceeded the indirect tax collection target for fiscal 2025-26, an official said on Thursday. The total indirect tax collection, which includes customs, excise and GST, as per Revised Estimates (RE) was pegged at over Rs 15.52 lakh crore for FY26. This includes Rs 2.58 lakh crore from customs duty, Rs 3.38 lakh crore from excise duty, and Rs 9.58 lakh crore from Central Goods and Services Tax (CGST). Without giving actual figures, the official said that revenues from customs duty came in at 102 per cent of RE, while in case of excise duty it was 101 per cent of RE. The Central GST collection came in at 100.8 per cent of RE for FY26. "Overall, GST plus non-GST collection came in at 101.2 per cent of RE," the official said. However, the collection from health and national security cess, which is levied on pan masala manufacturing has missed the target. The RE had pegged Rs 2,330 crore from the health and national security cess collection in FY26. Howeve

India's taxpayer base doubled to 12 cr in 11 yrs, middle class expands: FM

"So, the economy is no longer narrow, and it's not just confined to the elite. The middle-class basket is widening. Between 2013-14 and 2024-25, the number of taxpayers, that is, people filing returns

New income tax rules coming soon - and taxpayers can now give feedback

I-T dept invites stakeholder views on draft rules, forms under new Income Tax Act

ITR refund stuck? Experts warn December 31 delays could block revisions

'Act fast: Rectification can save your refund if ITR isn't processed by year-end,' say experts

Income Tax dept emails flag cash deposits, property deals: What to do

Emails about high-value transactions in Annual Information Statements nudge people on compliance processes, say experts

Tax hierarchy sees reshuffle as Odisha, Telangana take unexpected leads

Smaller states such as Odisha and Telangana are emerging as the fastest-growing contributors to GST and direct taxes, challenging the long-held dominance of India's traditional economic powerhouses

Centre moves tobacco, pan masala levy Bills, seeks to retain mopup

New excise and cess proposals aim to boost central revenue as GST compensation period ends; states won't share proceeds

I-T flags 25,000 ITRs with foreign-asset gaps: Here's what happens next

Alerts target taxpayers flagged through global data on undisclosed foreign holdings.

CBDT's new 'NUDGE' on foreign assets: Why taxpayers should pay attention

International agreement on data sharing allows government to flag overseas assets missing from tax returns filed

CBDT to nudge 25K high-risk taxpayers to disclose foreign assets

Move aims to nudge 25,000 taxpayers to disclose foreign assets and income

Income tax compliance: Gains and gaps amid high share of nil returns

TDS, compliance rules and policy shifts have reshaped filing patterns, but rising nil returns and stagnant tax-paying filings point to gaps that need closer scrutiny

India's net direct tax collection up 7% so far in FY26: CBDT data

The Centre has budgeted Rs 25.2 trillion in direct tax collections for FY26. In the previous year, net direct taxes rose 13.6 per cent to Rs 22.26 trillion, surpassing the Budget estimate

Even before pandemic disruption HC tax cases took longer for disposal

The second of a two-part series on tax litigation looks at the time it takes for high courts to wind up cases

I-T department begins action on firms failing to report high-value deals

The Income Tax Department has started issuing notices and levying penalties on these non-compliant entities, directing field officers to complete the process by end-November

NITI Aayog calls for pruning tax offences from 35 to six in new paper

The new paper proposes a three-tier approach to decriminalise minor tax offences and retain criminal liability only for wilful and high-value evasion

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