New Delhi: The Income Tax Department on Saturday unveiled draft income tax rules, which aim to simplify tax filing and ease compliance. The new rules, which will come into effect from April 1, will cover a range of issues for common taxpayers and companies, with an emphasis on simplification, faceless assessment and reducing interpretation disputes.The draft rules and forms will be in the public domain for 15 days till February 22 and all stakeholders and the public are requested to read and provide feedback on these rules. The language of the rules has been simplified and formulas and tables have been made available.The IT Rules, 1961 seek to eliminate redundancies.Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in her 2026-27 Budget speech on February 1, had said that simplified income tax rules and forms will be notified soon, giving taxpayers ample time to familiarize themselves with its requirements.Sitharaman had said, “The form has been redesigned in such a way that common citizens can comply with it without any difficulty.”In July 2024, the FM had announced a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Union Finance Minister had said, “This was completed in record time and the Income Tax Act, 2025 will come into force from April 1, 2026.”CBDT chairman Rabi Aggarwal had told TOI that the new rules will simplify the processes and the forms will be smarter and aligned with the tax returns or audit reports so that any discrepancies and inconsistencies can be taken care of.
