The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab, will convene on September 3 to discuss direct tax reforms. According to reports from ET Now, the meeting will focus on 'Direct Tax Reforms: Simplification, Rationalisation and Ease of Compliance' with representatives from the Ministry of Finance's Department of Revenue and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) in attendance.
The discussion will cover several key areas including implementation of the Income-tax Act, 2025, direct tax revenue performance, tax buoyancy, compliance and tax reforms. As reported by ET Now, the committee will examine how to simplify and rationalize the tax system while improving compliance mechanisms for taxpayers. The subject represents a shift from the panel's earlier agenda, which was to hear the Department of Economic Affairs on virtual digital assets after an August 27 sitting on the same topic was called off.
The Income-tax Act, 2025, which replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961, was passed by Parliament in the Monsoon Session and came into effect from April 1, 2026. According to ET Now, the Act was passed by the Lok Sabha on August 11, 2025 and the Rajya Sabha on August 12, 2025, and received presidential assent on August 21, 2025. The comprehensive legislation contains 536 sections across 23 chapters and 16 schedules.
The current session represents a shift from the committee's earlier agenda, which was to hear the Department of Economic Affairs on virtual digital assets after an August 27 sitting on the same topic was called off. As reported by ET Now, the committee has previously conducted extensive hearings with various stakeholders including the Reserve Bank of India, Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, CBDT, Financial Intelligence Unit-India, Ministry of Corporate Affairs, International Financial Services Centres Authority, Revenue Secretary, and major cryptocurrency exchanges including CoinDCX, CoinSwitch, Coinbase and Binance.
