Govt Launches Process to Revamp Income Tax Regime; Sought Public Comments

The Union Government on Monday formally commenced the process of revamping the existing income tax framework with four primary objectives in mind: language simplification, litigation reduction, ease of compliance, and the elimination of obsolete laws.

This initiative is consistent with the announcements made in the Union Budget 2024-25 by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in July, just weeks after the Narendra Modi government was sworn in for a third term.

The aim is to make the Act (Income-tax Act, 1961) concise, clear, and easy to understand, which will decrease disputes and litigation and provide greater tax certainty to taxpayers,” said the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), a department of the finance ministry, in a statement on Monday.

To that purpose, CBDT formed an internal committee to undertake a complete review of the Income-tax Act and sought public feedback. According to the statement, a webpage on the e-filing portal has been developed to help with this.

During her Budget speech, Sitharaman declared that the government intends to simplify tax laws.

“I am announcing a full review of the Income-tax Act of 1961. The goal is to make the Act clear, concise, and easy to read and understand. This will reduce conflicts and litigation, giving taxpayers greater tax certainty,” she stated in Parliament on July 23.

“It will also bring down the demand that is currently being litigated. It is intended to be completed in six months. The Finance Bill makes a start by streamlining the tax framework for charities, the TDS rate structure, reassessment and search provisions, and capital gains taxation,” she added in the speech.

The webpage can be accessed with this link – Click Here

The above link is available and accessible to stakeholders/experts/the general public on the E-filing site as of October 6, 2024. The stakeholders/ experts/public can access the page by entering their name and mobile number, which will be validated using OTP.

Stakeholders/experts/the general public should specify the relevant provision of the Income-tax Act of 1961 or the Income-tax Rules of 1962 (mentioning the specific section, sub-section, clause, rule, sub-rule, or form number), as applicable, under the four categories listed above.