Notes on tax, audit and regulatory change
Short notes on what changed and what it means in practice. Written for people who have to act on it, not as a summary of the notification.
What changed, and what it means in practice.
Each note states the position as at its date, names the provision it turns on, and stops there. Where a statute has been renumbered — as the income-tax law was on 1 April 2026 — we say which Act governs which period, because that distinction decides which section number is the right one to work from.
2 of 2 in Direct Tax
The Income-tax Act, 2025: what changed on 1 April 2026
The 1961 Act is repealed. Tax audit is section 63, reported in Form 26 under Rule 47 — and every period up to 31 March 2026 still runs under the old law.
15 April 2026
Two calendars, not one: quarterly TDS statements and the TCS Form 27EQ
Deduction statements are due at the end of the month following the quarter, and 31 May for the last one. Collection statements are due on the fifteenth. Treating them as one calendar costs a fee for every day of delay.
2 July 2026Written as education, not as a pitch.
Each note states the position as at its date, cites the section or notification it turns on, and stops there. Positions change by amendment, notification and circular — check the date on the note before you rely on it.
We write these for a specific reason. A great deal of what circulates as tax commentary is a summary of a notification with the difficult part left out, and the difficult part is usually the only part that matters: which period a change applies to, what has to be done differently, and by when. A note that does not answer those three questions has not earned the reader's time.
That is also why we are careful with section numbers at the moment. The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961, and almost every section was renumbered in the process. Returns, assessments and proceedings for periods up to 31 March 2026 continue under the earlier Act. Widely published mapping tables disagree with each other and, in places, with the Department's own guidance — so where these notes give a section number under the new Act, it is one we have confirmed against an official source, and where we have not been able to confirm one, we describe the provision instead and name the former section so the reader can find it.
Nothing here is advice on your own facts, and reading it does not create a client relationship. If a note raises a question about your own position, the sensible next step is a conversation rather than acting on a general statement.