Joint Parliamentary Committee report on Waqf (Amendment) Bill tabled; Opposition walks out

New Delhi: Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the new Income Tax Bill, 2025, in Lok Sabha this afternoon. The Bill aims to simplify tax laws, eliminate outdated provisions, and ease compliance.

The key highlight of the Income Tax Bill 2025 is that it will consolidate India’s taxation laws and simplify them for taxpayers. The new tax code will remove several ‘obsolete’ sections of the existing Income Tax Act, reduce litigation, and improve compliance. The new Income Tax law will also simplify tax laws to make them more transparent and taxpayer-friendly.

If approved, it will replace the Income Tax Act of 1961 and come into effect on April 1, 2026.

The Bill will then be referred to the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, which will begin its consultation process.  

  Waqf Bill

Meanwhile, the Joint Parliamentary Committee’s report on Waqf (Amendment) Bill was tabled in the Rajya Sabha this morning. 

Opposition MPs staged walk out demanding the JPC report to be sent back alleging that dissent notes have been deleted from it.

Leader of Opposition, Mallikarjun Kharge claimed that the dissent remarks have been deleted from it. Calling it condemnable, anti-democratic, Kharge urged Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankar to reject the Waqf report and send it back.

The JPC panel, including Opposition and BJP MPs, submitted its report to LS Speaker Om Birla on January 30 and the committee had adopted the report on the draft legislation by a 15-11 majority vote.

BJP members insisted that the Bill, introduced in the Lok Sabha in August last year, seeks to bring modernity, transparency and accountability in the management of Waqf properties.

On the other hand, the Opposition termed it an attack on the Constitutional rights of the Muslim community and interference in the functioning of Waqf boards.

Simpler, shorter law

The Income Tax Bill, 2025, is 201 pages shorter than the current Act, with fewer provisos and explanations, making it easier to understand. The amended Income Tax Act of 1961 is 823 pages (as of 2024), while the new Income Tax Bill is streamlined to 622 pages.

New ‘Tax Year’ concept

 The assessment year will now be called the tax year to reduce confusion. For new businesses, the tax year will begin from their establishment date.

Taxation clarity

 The new Bill addresses the long-standing debate on Sections 44AD, 44AE, and 44ADA, a key concern for professionals. It clarifies profit computation by introducing the term “profit claimed to have been actually earned.”