THE DEVIL IS IN THE THE DETAILS

EXPERTS SAY CLARITY ON THE FINE PRINT WILL COME ONCE THE NEW INCOME TAX LAW COMES INTO FORCE.

-  BY ASHUTOSH KUMAR

THE UNION FINANCE MINISTRY has set the ball rolling towards simplification of India’s direct tax laws. As announced in the Budget, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the Income-tax Bill, 2025, on February 13 to repeal the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Bill has been referred to a select committee of Parliament, chaired by BJP MP Baijayant Jay Panda.

After the tabling of the Bill, the finance ministry had said that it marks a significant step towards simplifying the language and structure of the Income-tax Act, 1961. “No major tax policy changes have been done to ensure continuity and certainty and no modifications of tax rates, preserving predictability for taxpayers,” the finance ministry said in a release.

The Income-tax Bill, 2025, significantly curtails the redundancies that have crept into the 1961 Act (see table). However, certain provisions contained in the fine print of the Bill may need further clarifications, believe experts.