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.
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.
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