'Recent reforms amount to new tax code'

India’s long-awaited overhaul of its direct tax regime has effectively arrived in stages, combining the simplified Income Tax Act enacted last year with a toned-down penalty and an enforcement framework under the Finance Bill 2026, and the revamped procedures and user-friendly ‘smart’ tax return forms to be rolled out later this month, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairperson Ravi Agrawal said in an interview.

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad [e-mail]

India’s long-awaited overhaul of its direct tax regime has effectively arrived in stages, combining the simplified Income Tax Act enacted last year with a toned-down penalty and an enforcement framework under the Finance Bill 2026, and the revamped procedures and user-friendly ‘smart’ tax return forms to be rolled out later this month, Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) chairperson Ravi Agrawal said in an interview.

The Income Tax Act, 2025 will replace the decades-old Income Tax Act, 1961 and is structured to simplify and streamline the country’s direct tax framework. The Act is set to come into effect from 1 April.

Agrawal said the income tax rules to be issued this month under the new statute, will have simpler procedures and forms that capture data efficiently.