Tax changes: tax holiday till 2047 for foreign cloud providers using Indian data centres; MAT exemption for presumptive non residents.
Proposals grant a tax holiday until 2047 for foreign cloud providers using Indian data centre services if Indian customers are served via an Indian reseller, and a 15% safe harbour on cost where the data centre provider is related. Additional measures include a 2% profit safe harbour for non-resident component warehousing in bonded warehouses, a five-year income tax exemption for non-residents supplying capital goods to toll manufacturers in bonded zones, a five-year exemption for global income of non-resident experts under notified schemes, and MAT exemption for non-residents taxed on a presumptive basis.

Direct tax reforms: tribunal interest exempt, lower TCS/TDS rates, automated certificates, and a one time foreign asset disclosure scheme.
Proposals exempt motor-accident tribunal interest to individuals from income tax and TDS, reduce specified TCS/TDS rates, enable depositories to accept Form 15G/15H for multiple holdings, extend return revision time to 31 March for a nominal fee, introduce rule based automated lower/nil deduction certificates for small taxpayers, and create a one time six month foreign asset disclosure scheme with distinct payment and immunity terms for two categories of small taxpayers.

CIC and PESB receive Rs 39.14 crore allocation; DoPT RTI propagation funding increased by Rs 50 lakh.
The Central Information Commission and the Public Enterprises Selection Board have been allocated Rs 39.14 crore in the Union Budget 2026-27 for establishment-related expenditure, an increase from the revised estimate; the Budget differentiates Budget Estimates and Revised Estimates. The government also increased funding for the Department of Personnel and Training to propagate the Right to Information Act. The CIC's statutory powers under the RTI Act include adjudication of second appeals, inquiries, directions on record management and disclosures, imposition of penalties, and annual reporting; the PESB advises on top management appointments in central public sector enterprises.

Income tax reforms: new Act from April 2026, buybacks taxed as capital gains, TCS, STT and MAT rules revised.
The Income Tax Act, 2025 takes effect 1 April 2026 with simplified forms; ICDS requirements will be merged into IndAS and separate ICDS accounting removed from 2027-28. Buybacks will be taxed as capital gains for all shareholders with an additional buyback tax on promoters; TCS on specified goods and LRS remittances revised (2% for education/medical, 20% otherwise); STT raised on futures and options; MAT converted to a final tax at 14% with brought-forward MAT credit eligible for limited set-off in the new regime.

Union Budget proposes integrated assessment and penalty orders and prosecution immunity for small undisclosed foreign assets.
Proposals integrate assessment and penalty proceedings into a single common order, remove interest on penalty during first appellate appeal, reduce pre payment from 20% to 10% on core tax demand, allow updated returns after reassessment on payment of an additional 10% tax, extend immunity framework to misreporting subject to payment of 100% additional tax, convert technical penalties into fees, decriminalise certain defaults, and rationalise and grade prosecution with maximum simple imprisonment reduced to two years and retrospective immunity for small undisclosed foreign assets.

Customs Integrated System rollout, duty free fish catch in EEZ/high seas, and removal of courier cap boost export facilitation.
A two year rollout will establish a single, integrated and scalable Customs Integrated System with phased expansion of non intrusive scanning and AI for container risk assessment, and a single digital window to process inter agency approvals; regulated goods clearance will be operationalised by April 2026 and non compliant free goods will clear immediately after online registration and duty payment. Fish caught by Indian vessels in the EEZ or on the High Seas will be duty free and landing abroad treated as export, safeguards will be applied, and the Rs.10 lakh courier export cap will be removed.

Public capex rises to Rs12.2 lakh crore with guarantees, waterways, freight corridors, high speed rail and seaplane incentives.
Public capital expenditure is proposed at Rs.12.2 lakh crore for FY2026-27, with measures to accelerate CPSE real estate monetisation via dedicated REITs. An Infrastructure Risk Guarantee Fund will provide partial credit guarantees to lenders to boost private developer confidence. The Budget proposes Dedicated Freight Corridors, 20 new National Waterways, a Coastal Cargo Promotion Scheme, seven High Speed Rail corridors, a Seaplane VGF Scheme to incentivise indigenous manufacturing and operations, a Rs.20,000 crore outlay for CCUS over five years, and Rs.5,000 crore per City Economic Region over five years.

IT services safe harbour threshold raised to Rs 2000 crore; 15.5% margin and automated approval introduced.
The document consolidates software and related offerings into a single Information Technology Services category with a uniform safe harbour margin of 15.5% and raises the eligibility threshold for safe harbour from Rs 300 crore to Rs 2,000 crore. Safe harbour approvals will be granted by an automated rule-driven process without tax officer examination, and electing companies may retain the safe harbour for up to five consecutive years. A fast-track unilateral APA for IT services aims for conclusion within two years (extendable six months on taxpayer request), and modified return facility for entities entering APAs is extended.

Bharat-VISTAAR multilingual AI tool integrates agricultural data to provide customized farmer advisories and reduce risk.
The Budget proposes Bharat-VISTAAR, a multilingual AI tool integrating AgriStack portals and the ICAR agricultural practice package with AI systems to provide customized advisory support aimed at enhancing farm productivity, improving farmer decision making and reducing risk through personalized recommendations.

SME Growth Fund launched to incentivize enterprises and expand TReDS liquidity, plus professional support for MSMEs.
Introduces a dedicated Rs.10,000 crore SME Growth Fund to provide equity support and incentivise enterprises meeting selected criteria, with a Rs.2,000 crore top-up to the Self Reliant India Fund for micro enterprise risk capital. Proposes four TReDS-based liquidity measures: mandate TReDS for CPSE purchases from MSMEs; a credit guarantee mechanism for invoice discounting on TReDS; link GeM with TReDS to inform financiers; and enable TReDS receivables as asset-backed securities. Also proposes modular training via professional institutions to create accredited para professionals to help MSMEs meet compliance affordably.

Personal import tariffs cut to 10%; customs exemptions for medicines expanded; AEO duty deferral extended to 30 days.
Tariff and customs proposals reduce the tariff on personal imports from 20% to 10% and exempt basic customs duty on 17 medicines while adding seven rare diseases for duty exemption of drugs, medicines and Food for Special Medical Purposes. Procedural reforms extend AEO duty deferral from 15 to 30 days, grant the same facility to eligible manufacturer importers, extend advance ruling validity to five years, enable factory to ship electronic sealing, automate clearance notifications for trusted importers, and shift warehousing to an operator centric, risk based model.

Biopharma SHAKTI launches a Rs.10,000 crore plan to build domestic biologics manufacturing and health workforce capacity.
The Budget proposes Biopharma SHAKTI, a five year Rs. 10,000 crore programme to develop domestic biologics and biosimilars manufacturing, upgrades and new institutions for Allied Health Professionals to add 100,000 AHPs, training of 150,000 caregivers, establishment of five Regional Medical Hubs in partnership with the private sector, upgrades to AYUSH infrastructure and traditional medicine research, and enhancement of emergency, trauma and mental health institutional capacity.

Customs and central excise: budget proposes tariff simplification, targeted duty exemptions, and SEZ-to-DTA concessional sales.
The Budget proposes tariff simplification by removing certain long-standing exemptions and embedding effective rates in the tariff schedule; raises duty free import limits for specified seafood inputs to 3% of prior year FOB and extends duty free input treatment to Shoe Uppers; lengthens export timelines for leather, textiles and footwear to one year. It grants targeted BCD exemptions for Lithium Ion cell manufacturing and storage systems, sodium antimonate for solar glass, nuclear project goods to 2035 for all capacities, capital goods for critical minerals processing, aircraft components and defence MRO inputs, and specified microwave oven parts; excludes biogas value from excise on biogas blended CNG. A one time concessional DTA sale mechanism for eligible SEZ manufacturers is also proposed.

Union Budget 2026-27 promotes manufacturing in biopharma, semiconductors, textiles and container production with targeted schemes.
The Budget proposes Biopharma SHAKTI (Rs.10,000 crore over five years) to build domestic biologics capacity, expand NIPERs, create 1,000+ accredited clinical trial sites, and strengthen the national regulator; launches India Semiconductor Mission 2.0 and raises the Electronics Components Manufacturing Scheme outlay to Rs.40,000 crore; and establishes state supported Rare Earth Corridors, three challenge mode Chemical Parks, a Rs.10,000 crore Container Manufacturing scheme, and an Integrated Textile Programme with five components including Mega Textile Parks and skilling upgrades.

Union Budget 2026/27 criticised as lacklustre, non-transparent and offering little for farmers, youth and workers.
Congress characterised the Union Budget 2026/27 as totally lacklustre and non-transparent, alleging it provides no substantive allocations or measures for farmers, unemployed youth, labour, social sectors, marginalised groups and Opposition-ruled states, and favors big corporates; meanwhile the Finance Minister raised capital expenditure to Rs 12.2 lakh crore for FY27 and announced infrastructure measures for tier 2 and tier 3 cities against a backdrop of global economic uncertainty.

Union Budget 2026-27 advances sustainable growth, capacity building and inclusive development through targeted manufacturing, services and regional measures.
Union Budget 2026-27 sets a threefold framework of sustainable economic growth, capacity building, and inclusive development. It articulates six growth pillars-scaling strategic manufacturing, rejuvenating legacy industries, promoting Champion MSMEs, expanding infrastructure, ensuring energy security, and developing City Economic Regions-while stressing continued structural reforms, financial-sector resilience and technology adoption. A High-Powered "Education to Employment and Enterprise" Standing Committee will align services-sector growth, employment and skills policy. Targeted measures will raise farmer incomes, empower Divyangjan, expand mental-health access, and accelerate development in Purvodaya States and the North-East.

Union Budget 2026-27 advances growth, infrastructure and tax reform including a new Income Tax Act and sector incentives.
Budget 2026-27 sets fiscal estimates with a 4.3% BE fiscal deficit and increased public capital expenditure, establishes industrial and infrastructure interventions including Biopharma SHAKTI, ISM 2.0, expanded electronics and textile schemes, an SME Growth Fund, and City Economic Region financing; and implements tax and administrative reforms including a New Income Tax Act from April 2026, TCS/TDS rationalisation, reassessment and prosecution rationalisation, IT sector safe harbour and incentives for non resident data and cloud services, and conversion of MAT into a final tax.

Union Budget 2026-27 introduces tax reforms, customs duty cuts and incentives to boost manufacturing, services and investment.
The Budget implements the New Income Tax Act, 2025 from April 2026 with simplified rules and forms; introduces reduced TCS rates, extended TDS coverage for manpower services with streamlined lower rates and automated lower/nil deduction certificates; integrates assessment and penalty proceedings with reduced pre-payment and expanded immunity from penalty/prosecution subject to payment of tax and interest; rationalises MAT into a final tax with reduced rate and limited set-off; and introduces customs duty exemptions, tariff cuts for personal imports, and warehousing and digital trade facilitation measures to support manufacturing, exports and investment.

Budget 2026-27 introduces tax reform, manufacturing incentives, infrastructure financing and customs simplification to boost growth.
Budget 2026-27 advances a growth-centred agenda combining targeted manufacturing incentives, expanded infrastructure financing and City Economic Regions, and comprehensive tax reform: a new Income Tax Act (2025) effective 1 April 2026; taxpayer ease measures including TCS/TDS rationalisation and a one-time foreign assets disclosure scheme with defined immunity; rationalisation of penalties and decriminalisation of minor defaults; conversion of MAT into a final reduced-rate tax with transitional set-off; incentives for data centres, toll manufacturing and IT services; and customs/GST simplification with trust-based customs processes and tariff rationalisation to support domestic production and exports.

Union Budget called balanced and non-populist; FINER highlights MSME support, infrastructure and tourism boosts for northeast.
The Union Budget is described as balanced, non-populist and fiscal-disciplined in light of geopolitical risks, with operational emphasis on MSME support, infrastructure for tier 3 and tier 4 cities, a Buddhist circuit to boost tourism, and increased sectoral allocations; FINER will review the fine print and raise deficiencies with ministers and regional MPs.