New Income Tax bill likely to be introduced in Lok Sabha on Thursday

They said the government is keen on detailed consultations on the bill and it is likely to be sent to a Select Committee for further examination.

The Union Cabinet last week cleared the new Income Tax bill.

Sitharaman had indicated earlier that the bill will be sent to a parliamentary committee for scrutiny. "The process is the committee gives its recommendations, it comes back, and then the government, through the Cabinet, takes a call whether these amendments are to be taken in," she had said.

In July 2024 Budget, the government had proposed a comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The purpose was to make the Act concise and lucid and reduce disputes and litigation.

Sitharaman had said in her budget speech on February 1 that the bill will be soon introduced in Parliament.

"Over the past 10 years, our Government has implemented several reforms for convenience of tax payers, such as (1) faceless assessment, (2) taxpayers charter, (3) faster returns, (4) almost 99 per cent returns being on selfassessment, and (5) Vivad se Vishwas scheme. Continuing these efforts,I reaffirm the commitment of the tax department to "trust first, scrutinize later. I also propose to introduce the new income-tax bill next week," she said in the budget speech.