Comparison of section 479 "Failure to furnish returns of income." between the Income-Tax Act, 2025 (as passed) and the Income-Tax Bill, 2025 (as originally introduced)

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....work. Effective date or enactment date: Not stated in the document. Background & Scope Statutory hook: Clause 479 sits under the chapter heading "OFFENCES AND PROSECUTION" within the Income Tax Bill, 2025. It addresses criminal liability for willful failure to furnish a return required u/s 263(1) or by notice u/ss 268(1) or 280. The clause distinguishes high-value evasion cases (where the amount of tax that would have been evaded exceeds twenty-five lakh rupees) from other cases, and sets minimum and maximum terms of imprisonment and fine. The text provides no in-line definitions; any defined terms (for example, "wilfully", "return of income", "total income", or precise meanings of sections 263, 268, 280) must be located elsewhere in the ....

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....asion (greater than Rs. 25 lakh) and lesser cases by calibrating maximum and minimum imprisonment. The immunity provisions in sub-section (2) embody a limited safe harbour, permitting prosecution to be avoided where the return is subsequently furnished within the specified time or where the tax shortfall is de minimis for non-companies. The clause ties the exemption under (2)(a) specifically to temporal compliance (one year from the end of the tax year) or to compliance u/s 263(6); (2)(b) uses the same temporal reference for counting late tax payments for the de-minimis test. Exceptions/Provisos The provision itself contains its exceptions at sub-section (2): temporal cure of the default and a monetary de-minimis threshold applicable to n....

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....268 or 280, nor any Rules, Notifications or Circulars that may interpret them. Not stated in the document: interaction with penal provisions elsewhere in the Bill/Act (for example, provisions dealing with prosecution procedure, compoundability, or assessment procedures) and whether prosecution under Clause 479 can be combined with other criminal charges for related tax offences. Differences Between the Two Provisions and Practical Impact * Wording on Fine Liability: Document 1 (Section 479, Income-tax Act, 2025) states the punishments "with fine" in sub-clauses (a) and (b). Document 2 (Clause 479 of the Income Tax Bill, 2025 (Old Version)) states the offender "shall also be liable to fine." * Practical impact: No substantive difference....

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.... 2 reduces the tax payable threshold calculation by referencing amounts "paid before the expiry of one year from the end of the tax year." Document 1 modifies that to amounts "paid before the expiry of period specified u/s 263(4)". * Practical impact: Similar to (2)(a), the Bill's Old Version uses an explicit one-year benchmark for counting advance/self-assessment tax payments; the enacted version ties the benchmark to section 263(4). Whether this expands or narrows the scope of immunity depends on the actual period specified in section 263(4) (Not stated in the document). Practical Implications * Compliance and risk areas: The clause elevates the stakes for deliberate non-filing by providing significant custodial exposure where th....