Comparison of section 263 "Return of income." between the Income-Tax Act, 2025 (as passed) and the Income-Tax Bill, 2025 (as originally introduced)

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....ries. Effective dates or enactment date: Not stated in the document. Background & Scope Statutory hook: Clause 263 of the Income Tax Bill, 2025. The clause governs filing of returns of income and processing mechanics. Scope covers: persons required to file; due dates (via a Table); rule-making authority for forms and particulars; special provisions for filing late returns, revised returns and "updated returns" within 48 months; ineligibility conditions for updated returns; treatment of defective returns; application to returns filed pursuant to statutory orders; exemptions for specified senior citizens; and definitions of terms such as "beneficial owner," "beneficiary," "specified entity," and "specified laws." Definitions provided are th....

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....dings are in motion. Exceptions/Provisos Key carve-outs and conditions in the draft include: * Late filing window: A return may be filed within nine months from year-end or before completion of assessment, whichever is earlier (clause (4)). * Revised return: Permitted within nine months from year-end or before completion of assessment (clause (5)). * Updated return: Permitted within 48 months from end of the next financial year, subject to multiple exclusions - not available where updated return is a return of loss; or decreases tax liability; or results in refund/increased refund; or an updated return already filed; or assessment/reassessment proceedings are pending or completed; or Assessing Officer possesses information regarding....

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....pter XXII (prosecutions), section 159 (information exchange within this Act), and specified laws (Smugglers Act; Benami Act; PMLA; Black Money Act). The text contemplates rules to be made by the Board for procedural particulars. Not stated in the document: any specific Rules, Forms, or Notifications already issued to operationalize these powers. Differences between Document 1 (Section 263, Income-tax Act, 2025) and Document 2 (Clause 263, Income Tax Bill, 2025 - Old Version) and Practical Impact * Insertion/Ordering of persons required to file: Document 1 includes at clause (1)(a)(ix) a resident (other than not ordinarily resident) who holds or is beneficiary of assets located outside India; Document 2 contains a similar clause but place....

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....Document 1 refers to prescriptive power (which may be interpreted as delegated power). This can affect the parliamentary/administrative formality required to prescribe forms and procedures; "rules" may necessitate a formal rules-making process under subordinate legislation. * Updated-return eligibility exclusions - specificity: Document 1 at clause (6)(c)(vii) refers to information received under an agreement in section 90 or 90A of Income-tax Act, 1961 or section 159 of this Act; Document 2 refers only to section 159. * Practical impact: Document 1's broader cross-reference to international information-exchange provisions (sections 90/90A of Income-tax Act, 1961) would make updated returns ineligible where international information....

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....t 2 references section 239(4)(3)(b) (appears to be a drafting irregularity). * Practical impact: Confusion on the precise procedural hook; can create uncertainty for returns filed pursuant to statutory orders. Stakeholders must consult the enacted text. Practical Implications * Compliance and risk areas: Mandatory inclusion of persons intending to claim refunds increases compliance for refund-seeking taxpayers; the 48-month updated-return window provides post-filing correction opportunities but with many substantive bars that taxpayers must monitor (e.g., information receipt, prosecutions, searches/surveys). * Record-keeping/evidence: Taxpayers should retain documentary evidence of communications from authorities (e.g., AO possession....