The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made a significant policy shift by removing provisions relating to arrest and detention from the prescribed process for recovery of tax arrears. According to reports from Business Standard, the amendment was issued on September 17 and has been given retrospective effect from April 1, 2026. The CBDT amended Rule 225 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which deals with recovery of tax arrears, by deleting the provision that empowered tax recovery authorities to use arrest and imprisonment for recovery of outstanding dues. As per CASansaar, the amendment specifically removes arrest and imprisonment as a prescribed mechanism for recovering outstanding tax dues, though it does not eliminate separate statutory powers relating to arrest that may exist under other provisions of the Income-tax Act.
The CBDT has substituted Form 169 for registration as a valuer under Section 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, requiring applicants to provide comprehensive personal and professional details. According to the latest notification, Form 169 requires applicants to provide details including their name, PAN, address, date of birth and contact details. The form requires candidates to specify the class of asset for which registration is being sought from 11 available categories: immovable property (other than agricultural lands, plantations, forests, mines and quarries), agricultural lands, coffee/tea/rubber/cardamom plantations, forests, mines and quarries, stocks, shares, securities, machinery and plant, jewellery, works of art, life interest, and any other asset. Applicants must disclose education, former employment, practice experience as a consulting engineer, valuer, surveyor or architect, and experience as a valuer including assets valued in the last three years. The form also requires valid certificate of registration under the Wealth-tax Act, 1957 and disclosure of any disqualification under Rule 247 provisions.
For authorised income-tax practitioners seeking registration under Section 515 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, the CBDT has replaced Form 171 with updated requirements. As per the latest notification, Form 171 requires applicants to provide personal information including name, gender, PAN, present and permanent residential addresses and contact details. The form mandates disclosure of the name and PAN of any firm in which the applicant is a partner and requires details of educational qualifications with relevant certificates attached. If the applicant is already registered as an authorised income-tax practitioner under the Income-tax Act, 1961, they must upload their existing certificate of registration. The form includes mandatory requirements of at least one year of practice before income-tax authorities and disqualification details if applicable. Additionally, applicants must certify that they have not already applied for registration with any other Chief Commissioner or Commissioner of Income-tax.
The CBDT has extended by six months the deadline under Rules 246 and 256 for registration of valuers and authorised income-tax practitioners. According to Business Standard, the deadline of September 30, 2026, has been extended to March 31, 2027. This extension provides additional time for professionals to complete their registration under the new Income-tax Act, 2025, framework. The extension applies to both valuers seeking registration under Section 514 and authorised income-tax practitioners under Section 515 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
As reported by Grant Thornton Bharat, the removal of arrest and detention provisions with retrospective effect from April 1, 2026 represents an important change in tax recovery procedures. Tax recovery will continue through attachment and sale of assets and other recovery mechanisms, but personal arrest will no longer form part of the prescribed recovery process under these Rules. The amendment aligns Rule 225 with changes introduced by the Finance Act, 2026 and reflects a shift towards property-based recovery measures. The existing framework continues to provide other recovery measures, including the attachment and sale of movable or immovable property and the appointment of receivers for recovering tax arrears, as reported by CASansaar.
