New Delhi, Feb 12: The Income Tax Bill, 2025, which seeks to replace the Income Tax, 1961, will be introduced in Parliament on Thursday.
Following are the highlights of the new bill:
1. Income Tax Bill, 2025, simplifies language, omits redundant provisions, uses shorter sentences;
2. The Bill does not impose any new taxes, only puts together the taxability provisions provided in the Income Tax Act, 1961;
3. Comprises 536 sections, 23 chapters and 16 schedules in just 622 pages. This compares with 298 sections, 23 chapters and 14 schedules in the 1961 Act;
4. New law to come into effect from April 1, 2026; rules to be put in place once Act is notified;
5. Includes both old tax regime and new tax regime for individuals, HUFs and others;
6. ‘Tax year’ concept introduced, complicated terms like ‘Previous year’ and ‘Assessment year’ omitted in the new Bill;
7. The word ‘notwithstanding’ removed, replaced with ‘irrespective’;
8. Does not refer to ‘explanations or provisos’, instead uses tables and formulae;
9. Taxpayer’s Charter, which outlines the rights and obligations of taxpayers, included in the Bill;
10. The Bill provides for special provision for capital gains computation in case of market-linked debenture;
11. Income not forming part of total income moved to Schedules to simplify the statute;
12. Deductions from salaries such as standard deduction, gratuity, leave encashment etc, tabulated at one place, instead of being scattered over different sections/rules. (PTI)
