Income-tax rates, surcharge and procedural reforms updated including block assessment rules and Vivad Se Vishwas scheme.
The Act prescribes income tax rates and graduated surcharges for assessment year 2024 25, adds a 4% Health and Education Cess, revises capital gains tax and withholding rates with date specific rates, inserts a cruise ship profit provision (section 44BBC), reduces multiple TDS/TCS rates, incorporates IFSC regulatory references, and replaces sections 148/148A with a pre notice show cause procedure. It creates a new Chapter XIV B for block assessments following search or requisition, sets computation, filing, timeline, interest and penalty rules, and establishes the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 with specified settlement percentages.

Income-tax rates and surcharge changes, new search-based block assessment procedure, and targeted direct tax amendments.
The Bill prescribes income-tax slab rates and detailed surcharge schedules for diverse taxpayer classes, imposes a 4% Health and Education Cess on tax plus surcharge, and harmonises deduction/collection/advance tax rates with these rates. It also inserts targeted withholding provisions, adjusts TDS/TCS percentages and thresholds, and sets surcharge caps for certain dividend and specified-fund incomes.

Capital gains taxation simplified with uniform long term rate and new holding period rules, affecting transfers after enactment.
The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 simplifies capital gains taxation by creating two holding period categories-listed securities long term after one year and other assets after two years-while immovable property and unlisted shares retain the two year rule. It removes indexation for long term gains and adopts a uniform concessional long term rate for most assets, revises rates for STT paid assets, increases the exemption threshold for certain long term gains, ensures parity between residents and non residents, and preserves existing rollover and reinvestment reliefs subject to current conditions.

Skill Development policy advances employment-linked incentives and education finance reforms to boost workforce employability and industry alignment.
The Budget prioritises coordinated skill development and employment generation through a new centrally sponsored skilling scheme with states and industry, upgrades to Industrial Training Institutes, expanded loan support with government-backed guarantees and interest subvention, and continued backing for major national programmes (PMKVY, CTS, JSS, NAPS). It pairs these supply-side measures with employment-linked incentive schemes, a large internship programme, entrepreneurship and digital skilling initiatives, sectoral upskilling for emerging industries, and targeted measures to raise women's workforce participation.

Economic Policy Framework to boost productivity and market reforms, including land digitization, labour platform integration and financial sector measures.
The Budget creates an Economic Policy Framework to enhance productivity and market efficiency across land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship, using technology and Centre-state collaboration. It mandates land digitisation measures including a Unique Land Parcel Identification Number (ULPIN) and urban GIS mapping, integration of the e Shram portal and compliance portals for labour, a financial sector strategy including a climate finance taxonomy and a legislative proposal for a Variable Capital Company, simplification of FDI rules, and introduction of NPS Vatsalya for minors' pension contributions.

Infrastructure investment support emphasised to mobilise private financing and enhance state central project collaboration.
The Union Budget 2024-25 prioritises accelerated infrastructure investment, combining sustained capital expenditure with concessional long-term interest-free loans to states, and promoting private participation via market-based financing, viability gap funding, project development support and asset monetisation through PPP frameworks and related instruments.

Inclusive human resource development and social justice: budget prioritises targeted welfare, skills and regionally balanced infrastructure investments.
The Union Budget 2024-25 prioritises Inclusive Human Resource Development and Social Justice through a saturation approach that extends education, health, skilling and livelihood measures to marginalised groups. It intensifies schemes such as PM Vishwakarma, PM SVANidhi, DAY NRLM and Stand Up India to promote certification, collateral free microcredit, digital incentives and SHG financing, while coupling these social measures with regionally targeted infrastructure projects under Purvodaya and special support commitments to Andhra Pradesh, expanded housing and rural development allocations, and increased banking access in underserved regions.

Tax deductions under the revised personal income tax regime increased, with extended assessment reopening tied to escaped income thresholds.
Budget 2024-25 increases deductions in the new personal income tax regime (including standard deduction and family pension), permits reopening of assessments beyond three years up to five years where escaped income exceeds a high threshold, and advances administrative reforms-expanded Form 26AS reporting, pre filled ITRs, the updated return facility under Section 139(8A), an e verification scheme, expansion of TDS/TCS, and a digital Dispute Resolution Committee to reduce litigation for smaller taxpayers.

Customs tariff amendments extend re import/re export timeframes and revise duty and concession rules for specified goods.
The Budget 2024-25 customs amendments revise tariff notifications to extend validity and re-import/re-export time-limits, modify Basic Customs Duty and Health Cess on specified goods, provide concessional treatment for precious metals, electronics and critical minerals, alter AIDC treatment on certain items, and introduce a New Shippers Review procedure in countervailing and injury determination rules.

Employment Linked Incentive expands wage and EPFO-linked support to stimulate formal youth employment and employer hiring incentives.
Budget 2024-25 establishes a Prime Minister's package of Employment Linked Incentive schemes providing wage and EPFO-linked support to first-time employees, manufacturing job creation incentives, and employer reimbursement to promote formal hiring; introduces a centrally sponsored skilling programme, internship placements, and expanded Mudra and MSME credit support including a collateral-free guarantee for machinery term loans; and advances tax simplification measures including merged charity exemptions, TDS rationalisation, narrowed reassessment windows with thresholds, capital gains rate revisions, expanded digitalisation of tax services, and appellate monetary limit increases to streamline litigation.

Tax simplification expands relief and restructures assessments, TDS and capital gains to reduce compliance burdens and disputes.
Comprehensive tax reform measures streamline direct and indirect tax regimes, simplifying compliance and adjusting substantive provisions: expansion of simplified personal and corporate regimes, increased standard and family pension deductions in the new personal tax regime, abolition of angel tax, limitations on reopening assessments based on an escaped income threshold, consolidation and rationalisation of TDS/TCS rules with decriminalisation of certain TDS delays, restructuring of capital gains taxation with revised holding-period classifications and increased exemption limits, targeted Customs duty recalibrations to support domestic manufacturing and policy goals, proposals for GST rationalisation and digitalisation, and dispute-resolution initiatives including expanded safe harbour rules and higher appeal thresholds.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code reform to introduce an integrated technology platform and tribunal strengthening for faster resolutions.
An Integrated Technology Platform will be established to improve outcomes under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, ensuring consistency, transparency, timely processing and oversight; associated IBC amendments, tribunal strengthening and additional tribunals (including Companies Act-dedicated benches) are proposed to accelerate insolvency resolution, while C-PACE services will be extended for voluntary LLP closure and states will be incentivized for business reform implementation and digitalization.

Agriculture research refocus to prioritise productivity and climate resilient varieties, with challenge mode funding and scaled natural farming support.
A comprehensive review of the national agriculture research framework will prioritise productivity and climate resilient varieties, with funding allocated in challenge mode to public and private researchers under expert oversight, and the release of new high yielding climate resilient crop varieties. Concurrently, a national natural farming programme will expand farmer adoption via certification, branding, institutional and gram panchayat implementation, supported by a network of bio input resource centres, while a National Cooperation Policy aims to developmentally strengthen the cooperative sector to boost rural growth and employment.

Digital public infrastructure for agriculture to register farmers, enable credit cards, and strengthen supply chains and aquaculture.
The Budget allocates a major sum to agriculture with a focus on deploying Digital Public Infrastructure to register farmers and lands, conduct digital Kharif crop surveys in selected districts, and enable Jan Samarth linked Kisan Credit Cards; it promotes Farmer Producer Organizations, cooperatives and start ups for vegetable supply chains and large scale clusters, advances a strategy for self reliance in oilseeds, and provides financial support for a network of Nucleus Breeding Centres for shrimp with financing facilitation through NABARD.

Credit Guarantee Scheme for MSMEs expands collateral-free term loan support and strengthens credit during stress periods.
A package of measures strengthens MSME finance and market access by establishing a self-financing credit guarantee scheme for collateral-free term loans in manufacturing, a government-promoted guarantee fund to sustain credit during stress periods, and expansion of bank and SIDBI credit outreach. PSBs will develop in-house digital-footprint based credit assessment models to include enterprises without formal accounts, Mudra loan limits for repeat creditworthy entrepreneurs are increased, buyer onboarding thresholds on trade receivables platforms are reduced to improve working capital access, and infrastructure for food safety and e-commerce export hubs will be supported.

Government internship scheme offers year long placements with monthly allowance and employer CSR contribution requirement for a nationwide youth cohort.
A national internship programme will place a large youth cohort in 500 top companies over five years for twelve month industry placements. Participants will receive a monthly internship allowance and a one time assistance payment to support living costs. Host companies are expected to bear training costs and to contribute a portion of internship costs from their Corporate Social Responsibility funds, embedding private sector financing and training obligations into the scheme.

Model Skill Loan revision expands government backed trainee financing to improve access to industry aligned vocational training.
A new Centrally Sponsored Scheme announced as the fourth scheme under the Prime Minister's package will expand vocational skilling in partnership with State governments and industry, upgrade Industrial Training Institutes in a hub and spoke model oriented to measurable outcomes, and align course content to industry and emerging needs. The Model Skill Loan Scheme will be revised to enable larger trainee loans backed by a government promoted fund guarantee to widen access to skilling finance.

Employment-linked incentives to boost formal hiring via EPFO enrolment, wage support for first-time hires and employer contribution subsidies.
Implementation of three schemes creates an incentive framework tied to EPFO enrolment to promote formal employment: Scheme A provides a one-month wage via direct benefit transfer to first-time EPFO registrants within a specified salary ceiling; Scheme B subsidises EPFO contributions for both first-time employees and employers in manufacturing during the initial four years of employment on a prescribed scale; Scheme C reimburses employers a fixed monthly portion of EPFO contribution for additional employees across sectors within a salary ceiling for two years. Eligibility depends on EPFO registration and incremental job creation.

GST amendments ease compliance and appeals, exclude extra neutral alcohol from central tax and relax input tax credit rules.
Amendments simplify GST compliance and dispute resolution: Extra Neutral Alcohol is excluded from central tax with parallel IGST/UTGST changes; a new regularisation power covers non-levy or short-levy due to prevailing trade practice; input tax credit time limits are relaxed and a common deadline for demand notices and orders is set; the window to secure reduced penalties by paying tax with interest is extended. Pre-deposit requirements for appeals are lowered and Tribunal filing timelines adjusted, while the government may notify the Appellate Tribunal for anti-profiteering cases.

Reassessment rules tightened, tax services digitalized and a new dispute resolution scheme announced to curb litigation.
A statutory simplification program includes a comprehensive six month review of the Income tax Act, tightened reassessment and search time limits, and full digitalization of remaining GST, Customs and Income tax services within two years. Compliance changes merge charitable exemption regimes, rationalize and reduce multiple TDS rates, permit TCS credit against salary TDS, and decriminalize TDS delay until statement filing. The Vivad se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 is announced for pending appeals, monetary appeal thresholds are raised, and safe harbor and transfer pricing procedures will be expanded and streamlined.