Direct Taxes – Comparative Study of Income-Tax Act & Rules [1961/1962 ↔ 2025/2026]—Finance Act 2026 – Edition April 2026

Direct Taxes – Comparative Study of Income-Tax Act & Rules

Direct Taxes – Comparative Study of Income-Tax Act & Rules

The Present Publication is the 2026 Edition, edited/authored by Taxmann’s Editorial Board, with the following noteworthy features:

• [Word-for-Word Dual-Column Comparative Format] The operative text of the legacy framework (1961 Act/1962 Rules) appears on the left; the corresponding text of the new framework (2025 Act/2026 Rules) on the right. Neither column is summarised, paraphrased, or abridged. Both legislative instruments speak in their own words, placed in direct confrontation with each other
• [Typographically Coded Change Identification] Two visual signals operate consistently throughout both volumes:
  • Bold + Strikethrough in the legacy column — Language deleted or modified in the new framework
  • Bold in the new framework column — Language that is newly inserted, simplified, or changed relative to the legacy text
  • This system allows the reader to identify the nature and extent of every change at the sub-provision level, without reading both columns in full.
• [Granular Alignment to the Smallest Operative Unit] Alignment does not rest at the section or rule level. Every sub-section, sub-rule, clause, sub-clause, item, sub-item, proviso, and Explanation is aligned against its precise counterpart. Where internal clause order has been reversed or reorganised in the new framework, alignment reflects actual structural correspondence rather than positional sequence
• [Standalone Compilation of New Provisions Without Legacy Counterparts] Provisions of the 2025 Act and 2026 Rules that have no corresponding provision in the 1961 Act or 1962 Rules are compiled separately, ensuring that entirely new legislative territory is not buried within the comparison and remains fully visible.
• Volume 1 — Specific to the Act
  • Comprehensive Cross-Mapping Table of Contents — A bilateral index mapping every section of the 1961 Act against its corresponding section(s) in the 2025 Act, with page references for both, enabling navigation from either statute’s reference frame. A practitioner thinking in 1961 Act section numbers can locate the 2025 Act equivalent instantly, and vice versa
  • Finance Act 2026 Incorporated in Both Statutes — Both the 1961 Act and the 2025 Act are reproduced as amended by the Finance Act 2026, making this the most current comparative edition available and ensuring the comparison reflects the law as it stands for Tax Year 2025-26 onwards
  • Sub-Provision Cross-Reference Tables at Each Entry Point — For each provision or group of provisions, a dedicated cross-reference table shows the 1961 ↔ 2025 mapping at the sub-section level, with the distribution across multiple sections or Schedules explicitly shown where applicable
• Volume 2 — Specific to the Rules
  • Four Cross-Reference Tables Covering Both Rules and Forms — Bilateral mapping in both directions for rules (1962 → 2026 and 2026 → 1962) and for prescribed forms (1962 → 2026 and 2026 → 1962), each entry showing both the rule/form number and heading under both frameworks. Of particular value to compliance officers and fiduciaries who need to identify which new form corresponds to a legacy form
  • Dedicated Section on Provisions Migrated from the Acts into the Rules — A structural feature of the legislative reorganisation is the movement of certain computational and procedural provisions previously embedded in the Income-Tax Act 1961 or 2025 into the Income-Tax Rules 2026. This volume identifies those migrations explicitly, with direct implications for interpretation and applicability