As the new Income Tax (I-T) Act, 2025 moves towards implementation from April 1, 2026, the finance ministry is reviewing and simplifying the compliance forms used by charitable institutions. Debjyoti Das, principal chief commissioner of income tax (exemption), said the new Act has already reorganised exemption provisions into a clearer and more coherent structure, and the accompanying procedures and forms are now being examined.
Ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27, Indian business houses have urged the government to make demergers tax-neutral, particularly in cases involving transfer of investments in associate companies with 25 per cent or more shareholding, under the new Income Tax Act. This may possibly help some companies planning to go public, according to a source.
With the Union Budget three months away, major industry chambers have submitted to the government proposals on common taxes, seeking simpler compliance and a quicker resolution of tax disputes.
The government is finalising a major GST overhaul with automated refunds, pre-filled returns, and analytics-based scrutiny to simplify compliance and boost liquidity for MSMEs.
The Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Ficci) has sought urgent steps to clear the huge backlog of income-tax appeals, simplify tax deducted at source (TDS) compliance, and ensure tax neutrality for fast-track demergers, during its consultation with Revenue Secretary Arvind Shrivastava ahead of the Union Budget 2026-27.
Nearly 96 per cent of new applicants will benefit from this simplified approval route.
To turn disruption into opportunity, NITI Aayog has recommended the launch of a National AI Talent Mission to make India the AI workforce capital of the world.
After issuing notices to hotels across the country for allegedly underpaying goods and services tax (GST) on restaurant services, the revenue department has now widened its scrutiny by seeking information from online travel platforms.
While the new income tax law replaces the Income Tax Act, 1961 and omits 13 offences, 35 actions and omissions continue to attract criminal liability under 13 provisions.
'This is not a case of tax evasion but the result of long-standing ambiguities in GST rules and unawareness.'
The CBDT is investigating Jane Street for possibly misusing the India-Singapore tax treaty.
Recalling or relabelling medicines already in the supply chain before September 22 will not be mandatory, the finance ministry said on Tuesday, issuing a fresh set of frequently asked questions (FAQs) to address industry concerns following the announcement of goods and services tax (GST) revisions.
'In case a particular industry has not passed on the benefits and if we receive complaints, we will take up the matter with the industry body concerned.'
The contrast with the old Income-Tax Act is stark. The 1961 law ran into 512,000 words; the 2025 one pares that down to 259,000. Chapters have been cut from 47 to 23, while sections have reduced from 819 to 536. One of the clearest changes is terminological. The confusing twin concepts of 'assessment year' and 'previous year' have been scrapped.
'...so cases that arose under the existing Act will be adjudicated under the old provisions.' 'Care has been taken to ensure that the new I-T Act does not give rise to interpretational issues.'
India's net revenues from the Goods and Services Tax (GST) rose at a three-month high pace of 10.7 per cent in August even as growth in gross collections slowed to 6.5 per cent from 7.5 per cent in the previous month, thanks to a nearly 20 per cent decline in refunds to taxpayers during the month.
'States should be compensated for the revenue loss for at least five years or beyond till the revenue stabilises.'
'We want to clear these pending refunds so that no issues arise once the new I-T Act takes effect.'
'If a charitable or religious trust sells a capital asset -- such as land, buildings, shares -- and makes a capital gain, it can avoid paying tax on that gain if it reinvests the proceeds in another capital asset for its charitable purposes.'
'There is no retrospective changing of the law, only its simplification.'
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