The bill is drafted in such a way that it meets international standards
Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chief Ravi Agrawal on Monday asked industry players to give their suggestions on the new income tax bill. During the presentation of the Union Budget of 2025 in Parliament on February 01, 2025, Union Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman declared that the government would publish a new income tax bill in the second week of February 2025.
The nearly 60-year-old Income Tax Act of 1961 will be replaced by this new income tax bill. The drafting of the new bill was completed within 6 months and one of the main purposes behind was to simplify the to make tax compliance easier for taxpayers and make it easier to read and understand.
CBDT Chief Ravi Agarwal also said that this new bill was drafted in such a way that it will meet the standards of its foreign counterparts. Also, the new law has been made more concise, as old provisions have been removed, making it less bulky and easier for the masses to comprehend.
He asked the industry to give their suggestions once the new bill is introduced and assured them that the suggestions would be looked into. Agrawal also said the income tax department is adopting a "participative" approach and is no longer following an "adversarial" approach. "The approach of the tax department is changing," he said.
The tax department, Agrawal said, it following a 'PRUDENT' approach where P stands for Proactive and professional, R (Rule based), U (User Friendly), D (Data driven), E (Enabling environment), N (Non-intrusive), T (Transparency).
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in her Budget speech had said that the time limit to file updated ITRs for any assessment year will be extended from the current limit of two years to four years.