New Delhi, Mar 20 (PTI) Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Friday asked income tax officers to make life easier for assesses and use technology to catch those evading tax wilfully.

Addressing the 'PRARAMBH 2026: Nationwide Awareness Campaign on the Income Tax Act, 2025', the minister also exuded confidence that the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective from April 1, will certainly set the trend for making India a very tax-friendly country.

"Make paying tax so easy that honesty becomes the natural choice. But those who are wilfully evading, those who are deliberately trying to get away, technology must catch them. If you are honest, the system will make your life easy, but if you evade, the system will find you. This message should go to the taxpayer," Sitharaman said.

Parliament, on August 12, 2025, passed a new Income Tax Bill to replace the six-decade-old Income Tax Act, 1961. It does not impose any new tax rate and only simplifies the language, which was required for understanding the complex Income Tax laws.

The Act has removed redundant provisions and archaic language and reduced the number of Sections from 819 in the Income Tax Act of 1961 to 536 and the number of chapters from 47 to 23.

The number of words had been reduced from 5.12 lakh to 2.6 lakh in the new Income Tax Bill, and for the first time, it introduces 39 new tables and 40 new formulas, replacing the dense text of the 1961 law to enhance clarity.

Sitharaman also asked the tax officials to hold awareness sessions across India to educate people about the new tax laws in local languages.

Besides, efforts should be made to reduce litigation aggressively.

"Every case that goes to a tribunal or a court is a failure of our system... a black mark on all of us," the Minister said.

She further said the new Income Tax Act should continue to remain simple and clear, adding it should not become as bulky and complex as the 1961 Act. PTI DP NKD CS DRR

Tax simplification: streamline compliance for honest taxpayers while using technology to detect willful evasion and reduce litigation. Finance Minister directs tax authorities to make compliance easy for honest taxpayers while using technology to detect willful evasion under the streamlined Income Tax Act, 2025; calls for local-language awareness campaigns and administrative steps to reduce litigation by clarifying and consolidating statutory provisions.