Income Tax Act 2025: Nirmala Sitharaman Urges Tax Authorities to Adopt a Taxpayer-Friendly Approach

As the Income Tax Act, 2025, is about to be implemented soon, the Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, has urged the income tax officers to work with a new mindset and ensure a simple and stable regime. Sitharaman said that the officers must work to make life simpler and easier for the taxpayers.

Sitharaman launched a campaign called PRARAMBH (Policy Reform and Responsible Action for Mission Viksit Bharat), where she asked the officers to interact with the taxpayers by going down to the tehsils to spread awareness and use local language.

“Chhodo Kal ki Baatein, Kal ki Baat Purani, Aao Milkar Likhenge Hum Income Tax ki Nayi Kahani,” Sitharaman said.

She highlighted the importance of the taxpayers having urged the need to maintain a good relationship between the taxpayers and the government. She said that the new law aims at making the framework simple, but a simpler framework alone is not enough. She added that the law must be administered with empathy, fairness and efficiency.

The main purpose of introducing the new Income Tax Act is to reduce ambiguity and clear confusion to make the taxpayers’ lives simpler. Sitharaman emphasized the importance of simplicity in laws, reminding that the majority of taxpayers have shifted to the new tax regime just because of the simpler rules.

Sitharaman also requested the tax officers to significantly reduce litigation and adopt technology to reduce human interventions with taxpayers. While she expressed the need for a taxpayer-friendly approach, she also warned that those who willfully evade taxes cannot escape the eyes of the department. With the use of technology, data analytics, and AI tools, the department will detect tax evasion. She said that the system will make life simpler for those who are honest, and for the dishonest taxpayers, the system will catch them.