India's net direct tax collection has seen a robust 15 per cent increase, reaching approximately 5.21 trillion in the first two and a half months of FY27, as on June 17, driven by strong growth in both corporate and non-corporate tax segments.
Monthly gold imports have declined to 25-30 tonnes from 70-80 tonnes while recycling of old jewellery has increased following the recent hike in import duties.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and the central government have introduced a package of measures, including tax exemptions for FPIs on government securities and a concessional foreign-exchange swap facility, aiming to attract up to $50 billion in foreign capital. This initiative is designed to strengthen India's balance of payments and potentially cover the projected BoP gap for FY27.
Despite the Centre's GST 2.0 guidelines aiming to facilitate provisional refunds within seven days for low-risk cases, many large taxpayers are still encountering significant delays in obtaining Goods and Services Tax (GST) refunds under the inverted duty structure (IDS), with experts citing inconsistent state-level scrutiny and subjective interpretations.
Businesses may eventually have to file returns largely based on invoices uploaded by suppliers, with limited scope for manual changes.
The Enforcement Directorate has reported a staggering 170 per cent surge in asset attachments, reaching 81,422 crore in the last financial year (FY26), underscoring its intensified efforts against financial crimes and its significant role in restituting funds to victims.
India's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows are projected to surpass $90 billion in 2025-26 (FY26), driven by robust policy reforms, free trade agreements, and strong economic growth, according to DPIIT Secretary Amardeep Singh Bhatia.
A growing conflict between India's insolvency law and tax rules is creating fresh uncertainty for companies undergoing resolution, with tax authorities increasingly denying the benefit of carrying forward past losses even after resolution plans have been approved by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT).
'In practical terms, a Master Circular is not merely desirable; it is a necessary transition tool to ensure that the promise of simplification under the Income-Tax Act, 2025, is fully realised.'
All services on the income-tax e-filing portal -- both pre-login and post-login -- are expected to be updated by April 1 to reflect the new legal framework.
However, from April 1, 2026, transactional forms such as tax deducted at source statements, remittances, Form 60, and Form 15G/15H would operate under the new simplified framework.
'Among corporates, about 60% of income is now reported under the new tax regime.'
Building on last year's clearance of 172K cases, I-T department is pushing for faster appeal disposals, penalty reforms and system-driven processes to curb litigation and boost tax certainty.
'Global uncertainty is something which definitely occupies the minds of officials when we are preparing for the Budget.'
Enforcement agencies have highlighted risks related to money laundering and terror financing, prompting closer scrutiny of crypto platforms operating in India.
Any reduction on purifiers would need consensus among state finance ministers.
Total pending Customs arrears, including amounts under litigation, court stays and cases where the appeal period has not expired, stood at about Rs 1.36 trillion at the end of December 2024.
The GST Council at its next meeting may consider a reduction in taxes on air and water purifiers as air quality across the country worsens and access to safe drinking water remains uneven.
To digitise Customs processes, the Union finance ministry is planning to integrate the Indian Customs Electronic Gateway (ICEGATE), Risk Management System (RMS), and Indian Customs Electronic Data Interchange System (ICES) into a single unified national Customs platform, according to government sources.
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.
