CBDT Chairman urges Income Tax Officials to Gear up for New Income Tax Act, 2025
CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal has asked Income Tax officials to prepare for the new Income Tax Act, 2025, which will come into force from April 1, 2026.
CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal has told the Income Tax Department to get ready and stay alert for the new direct tax law that will start from April 1 this year. He expects tax officers to work with clear thinking and strong focus. In his usual New Year message to the department's staff, the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that new rules, procedures and forms...
CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal has told the Income Tax Department to get ready and stay alert for the new direct tax law that will start from April 1 this year. He expects tax officers to work with clear thinking and strong focus.
In his usual New Year message to the department's staff, the Chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) said that new rules, procedures and forms are being prepared for this change.
The new Income Tax Act will replace the old one from 1961, which is more than 60 years old.
Calling 2026 a year of "special significance" for the department, the head of direct taxes in the country asked officers to be ready, understand the law well, and have confidence in putting it into action.
"This year carries special significance. With the Income Tax Act 2025 notified and scheduled to take effect on 1 April, 2026, we prepare for the shift to the Income Tax Act 2025. "New rules, procedures and forms are under formulation and training and capacity building are already underway," Agrawal wrote to the department officials in his January 1 letter.
PTI has seen the message where the CBDT chairman said that the coming months will need their "active involvement in training and familiarisation so that we understand the intent and structure of the new law and are able to guide tax payers with clarity".
"Your involvement and curiosity will shape how smoothly we make transition," he said.
Agrawal added that the way tax work is done is changing.
"Beyond collection (of revenue and taxes) and enforcement, the role of the department is increasingly centred on facilitation, trust and service. Technology will be central as systems evolve to align with the new framework," he said.
He also said that knowing data platforms and automatic processes will become very important, especially for younger officers and staff who will lead the tax department in the future.
Looking back at 2025, the CBDT chairman said the department handled issues like complaints, fixing orders, and pending appeals with close watch.
"Expectations were high and timelines demanding, yet colleagues across the country showed resilience and delivered," Agrawal said, as he praised the "sincerity" of tax officers even when their work was not noticed.
He said that changing business and transaction ways bring new money-related problems, but also give the department chances to gain better knowledge and skills. For this, tax officers must keep learning.
The CBDT chief asked tax officers to improve "behavioural" ways of working through the NUDGE framework, which uses data to communicate better and encourage taxpayers to follow rules on their own.
"These values live through our decisions, big or small...every member strengthens the integrity of the tax system and the work we do each day quietly supports the nation's financial architecture," he wrote.
"As 2026 unfolds, may we work together with diligence, clarity and purpose," he stated.
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