New I-T Act to ease compliance: Sharma

Ahmedabad: Principal chief commissioner of income tax, Gujarat, Satish Sharma on Wednesday said the new Income Tax Act, 2025, implemented from April 1, will make tax compliance simpler and more transparent for taxpayers.

He said the I-T department will conduct 18 outreach programmes across 14 districts in Gujarat to create awareness about the new law among taxpayers and professionals.

The department launched its first outreach programme, 'Prarambh', on Wednesday in association with the Ahmedabad chapter of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI).

Addressing tax professionals, Sharma said the tax administration system has changed significantly over the years. He noted that the share of income tax in central revenues has risen from 18-20% in 1990 to more than 53% now, while the maximum tax rate has reduced from 60% to 30%.

“The department today works more as a service provider than only as an enforcement agency, as technology has led to a significant rise in voluntary compliance,” Sharma said.

He added that digital infrastructure has transformed the return filing process. “Our Central Processing Centre now has the capacity to process 50 lakh returns in a day,” he said.

According to Sharma, the new Act was drafted by a team of 250 senior officers and aims to simplify tax provisions while improving transparency and ease of compliance.

Former ICAI president Aniket Talati said the new Income Tax Act introduces several progressive changes and is expected to strengthen voluntary tax compliance.

Officials said the outreach campaign would focus on helping taxpayers and professionals understand the key provisions of the new legislation.