New Delhi: In a bid to smoothen the transition to the Income-tax Act, 2025, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) on Sunday invited stakeholders to submit inputs on the proposed Income-tax Rules and Forms before they are finalised, signalling a push for a more consultative and compliance-friendly tax framework.
The Act, which received Presidential assent in August 2025, is scheduled to come into force from April 1, 2026. Ahead of that, the draft rules and forms have been uploaded on the Income Tax Department’s website to allow taxpayers, professionals and industry to review and suggest changes.
The CBDT said the drafts were prepared after broad-based consultations to align them with the new law, but further feedback is being sought to fine-tune the framework.
As part of the exercise, the tax authority has launched a dedicated utility on the e-filing portal to collect suggestions across four buckets: simplification of language, reduction of litigation, reduction of compliance burden, and identification of redundant or obsolete rules and forms. The portal has been live since February 4, 2026, and allows stakeholders to submit inputs after OTP-based verification using their name and mobile number.
The CBDT has asked contributors to be specific, flagging the exact rule, sub-rule or form number to which their recommendation pertains, so that the feedback can be compiled and considered before the final notification of the rules and forms.
For businesses and tax practitioners, the consultation window offers a chance to influence the nuts and bolts of the new regime—particularly on compliance costs and dispute risks, two long-standing pain points. The move also aligns with the government’s broader narrative of improving ease of doing business by simplifying tax language, streamlining procedures and reducing friction between taxpayers and the department.
With less than two months to go before the new law kicks in, the feedback process will be closely watched by industry, as the final shape of the rules and forms will determine how seamlessly companies and individuals can migrate to the Income-tax Act, 2025 era.