Parliamentary panel clears Income Tax Bill 2025 with 285 suggestions, to be tabled in Monsoon Session
The committee, headed by senior BJP MP Baijayant Panda, is likely to submit the report in the upcoming Monsoon Session of Parliament. Introduced in Lok Sabha on February 13, 2025, the Bill was referred to a Select Committee on the same day with instructions to report by the first day of Monsoon Session.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced in the 2024 budget that the Centre will comprehensively review the Income-Tax Act, 1961 in a time-bound manner to make it concise and easily understandable. 'Accordingly, the Income-Tax Bill, 2025 has been prepared which proposes to repeal and replace the Income Tax Act, 1961,' the Minister said in the statement of objects and reasons of the Bill.
She added that the Income Tax Act passed in 1961 has been subjected to numerous amendments since its passage. 'As a result of these changes, the basic structure of the Income Tax Act has been overburdened and the language has become complex, increasing cost of compliance for taxpayers and hampering efficiency of direct tax administration. Tax administrators, practitioners and taxpayers have also raised concerns about the complicated provisions and structure of the Act,' she said.
The Opposition had raised apprehensions on certain provisions of the Act and had alleged that it provides for misuse of power by authorities.
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