As India marks a decade of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the focus is shifting towards enhancing efficiency through artificial intelligence, data sharing, and process simplification. The reform, which unified India's indirect tax system, has significantly broadened the tax base and boosted revenues, with future plans including a streamlined two-tier rate structure and continued technological integration to reduce compliance costs and combat evasion.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries
'AIS helps taxpayers check whether all income streams and reportable transactions -- such as interest from old bank accounts, small dividend receipts or transactions across multiple brokers -- have been properly disclosed.' 'Mismatches between these transactions and declared income may trigger automated notices or scrutiny.'
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.
The CBI has arrested an Income Tax superintendent in Odisha, Ramesh Kumar Mohanty, for allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs 4,000 to delete a duplicate PAN card record. He was caught red-handed after a complaint was filed, and a case has been registered under the Prevention of Corruption Act.
A special CBI court in Thane acquitted an Income-Tax officer accused of demanding a bribe, citing lack of proof of illegal demand and contradictory evidence.
From the financial year 2025-2026, the government has introduced a new column in the tax return form for presumptive taxpayers, requiring them to disclose their year-end investments. This requirement was not present last year.
A court in Thane acquitted a suspended Income Tax Officer and his wife in a 2007 disproportionate assets case, criticising the CBI for a flawed investigation.
Prism, the parent company of OYO, has filed updated draft papers with Sebi for a Rs 6,650 crore initial public offering (IPO) consisting entirely of a fresh issue of shares, with no offer-for-sale component from existing investors.
Taxpayers should reconcile returns with AIS, Form 26AS and maintain all supporting records.
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).
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions.
With more granular reporting and enhanced data matching, mismatches are likely to be identified more quickly.
Salaried taxpayers should not use these forms blindly to file their income-tax returns.
Election-related freebies and populist measures are other factors crimping the revenue profile of these states.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has strongly refuted a media report suggesting the government is considering levying a tax, cess, or surcharge on foreign travel, calling the news "totally false".
India's banking system liquidity has fallen into a deficit for the first time in nearly three months, prompting the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to inject 1.41 trillion through a seven-day variable rate repo (VRR) auction to ease the temporary tightness.
The Delhi government has approved the Delhi EV Policy 2.0, which will phase out fresh registrations of internal combustion engine (ICE) two-wheelers and three-wheelers over the next two years, starting with a ban on ICE 3Ws and N1 category LCVs from January 1, 2027, and ICE 2Ws from April 1, 2028.
Indian companies are increasingly turning to share buybacks as a preferred payout strategy, driven by recent tax framework changes that make them more tax-efficient for non-promoter shareholders and a fall in stock prices.
The Indian government has imposed a new windfall gains tax of Rs 3 per litre on petrol exports, while simultaneously reducing the levy on diesel to Rs 16.5 per litre and aviation turbine fuel (ATF) to Rs 16 per litre, effective May 16.
Recent changes to tax exemptions and allowances, including increased education, hostel, and HRA limits, have made the old tax regime more competitive against the new regime, prompting salaried employees to re-evaluate their choice for the current financial year.
The Income Tax department has enabled online filing for ITR-1 (Sahaj) and ITR-4 (Sugam) for the Assessment Year 2026-27, allowing small and medium taxpayers to file returns for income earned in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
The Delhi government has approved an ambitious electric vehicle policy that eliminates registration fees and road taxes for EVs priced up to Rs 30 lakh, offers a Rs 1 lakh incentive for purchasing new EVs while scrapping old vehicles, and mandates that only electric two-wheelers can be registered starting April 2028.
Algo strategies must be registered with stock exchanges.
Taxability in property transactions depends on the actual source of funds and beneficial ownership, not on whose name appears in the purchase agreement.
rediffGURU T S Khurana answers readers' personal income tax queries
India's net direct tax collections increased by 5.12 per cent to over Rs 23.40 lakh crore in the 2025-26 fiscal year, but this figure still fell short of the revised budget target of Rs 24.21 lakh crore, primarily due to income tax cuts implemented earlier in the year.
Investors should do thorough due diligence when selecting a platform.
162 officials of the Trade and Taxes department in Delhi, including three assistant commissioners, were transferred after Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta discovered 'serious irregularities' during a surprise visit.
The remarkable rise of smallcaps reflects the emergence of a broad set of specialised businesses operating in industries where the sectoral tailwinds remain considerably stronger than macroeconomic headwinds, points out Debashis Basu.
rediffGURU Vipul Bhavsar answers readers' personal income tax queries
India has successfully negotiated the protection of its steel export interests under the free trade agreement with the UK, ensuring 85 per cent of its outbound shipments remain outside Britain's steel safeguard measures. This consensus addresses a key sticking point ahead of the comprehensive economic and trade agreement (CETA) coming into force on July 15.
Eighteen of India's 28 states exceeded the fiscal deficit ceiling of 3 per cent of GSDP in FY25, a deterioration comparable to the Covid year of 2020-21, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG). The report also noted a decline in states reporting a revenue surplus, with Bihar, Mizoram, and Telangana moving into deficit.
With Income Tax Act 2025 in force, your tax choice can quietly cost you big money if you're not paying attention. Ramalingam Kalirajan explains how
Ask rediffGURU and tax expert Mihir Tanna your income tax-related questions
Of course, NOT! Here's why. And here's how you can increase your Rs 1 crore retirement corpus.
A clarification by the ministry of external affairs that the passport is not a proof of citizenship has once again brought to the fore the need for a legal framework to provide citizens with a single document to establish they are Indians.
The Income Tax Department conducted searches at multiple locations in Kolkata, including the residence of TMC MLA Debashis Kumar and Miraj Shah, a proposer of Mamata Banerjee's candidature. The TMC alleges the raids are politically motivated.
AI firm Pramaana Labs, with a significant Indian workforce, has successfully raised $27 million in seed funding led by Khosla Ventures. The company aims to use these funds to advance its unique technology that converts complex knowledge into machine-verifiable truth, addressing the accountability gap in AI across regulated sectors like tax, healthcare, and financial compliance.
Beijing clearly intends to extend the China-Myanmar Economic Corridor to Bangladesh as part of its larger Maritime Belt and Road Initiative to boost its Indian Ocean presence.
