The Income Tax Bill 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13 to replace the Income Tax Act, 1961, has been formally withdrawn.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman withdrew the earlier Income Tax Bill, 2025, with the Select Committee having submitted its report on it.
A new version of the Bill, incorporating most of the recommendations made by the Select Committee chaired by BJP leader Baijayant Panda, will be introduced on August 11. A new version of the Income Tax Bill will be introduced in the House on Monday to avoid confusion by multiple versions of the Bill and to provide an updated version with all changes incorporated.
In February, as Nirmala Sitharaman rose to present the bill, some members of the Opposition staged a walk-out and others lobbed fierce questions at her. Among the latter, the Congress’s Manish Tewari and the RSP’s NK Premchandran suggested the new tax bill was more complicated than the old.
Trinamool MP Saugata Roy then criticised the new bill as being “mechanical”,
Ms Sitharaman said the MPs were incorrect; she said the present law had over 800 sections whereas the proposed law had only 536. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the Finance Ministry said the new tax system is built on five core principles, which make it ‘S.I.M.P.L.E’ for people to follow and to enforce.
These five principles were explained as: “Streamlined structure and language, Integrated and concise, Minimised litigation, Practical and transparent, Learn and adapt, and Efficient tax reforms”.