Sunset of share premium taxation exempts excess consideration on private company share issuance from tax from the new assessment year.
The amendment provides that clause (viib) of section 56(2), which taxed excess consideration received by closely held companies on issue of shares as Income from other sources, shall not apply from the specified assessment year, with the change effective from the stated first day of April.

Presumptive taxation for non-resident cruise operators establishes deemed profit treatment and conditional lease rental exemption for related companies.
A new presumptive taxation regime for non-resident cruise-ship operators deems a fixed proportion of amounts received or receivable for carriage of passengers as profits from that business, replacing the existing presumptive shipping provisions for cruise-ship activity. Additionally, lease rentals paid by a company opting into this regime to a foreign recipient will be exempt in the hands of that recipient if both are subsidiaries of the same holding company, with defined subsidiary/holding relationships and a time-bound availability.

Block assessment for search cases consolidates years into one assessment, streamlines investigation and prescribes tax and penalty rules.
A scheme of block assessment applies where a search under section 132 or requisition under section 132A is initiated on or after the commencement date, requiring the Assessing Officer to make one consolidated assessment for a defined block period covering six preceding assessment years and the period up to execution of the last authorisation. Regular assessments for years within the block abate; total income for the block is to include undisclosed income evidenced during search or requisition, undisclosed income attributable to other persons is to be transferred to their jurisdictional Assessing Officer, and specified tax, penalty and timeline rules apply.

Reassessment notice limits tightened, requiring pre-notice show-cause, specified authority approval and revised limitation periods for reopening cases.
Before initiating assessment, reassessment or recomputation the Assessing Officer must issue a notice with the prior order determining fit for reopening and require a return within a period not exceeding three months. A notice can be issued only where information suggests escaped income; survey information after the commencement date is included as such information, and information from a notified information sharing scheme requires prior specified authority approval. A pre notice show cause procedure with an opportunity to reply and specified authority approval to proceed is mandated, subject to transitional provisions and revised limitation windows, including extended periods for substantial escaped income.

Limitation for imposing penalties clarified by removing receipt-by-senior-commissioner reference, simplifying calculation of penalty limitation periods.
The provision governing the period of limitation for imposing penalties is amended to omit the reference to receipt of appellate orders by the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner, removing ambiguity in calculating limitation periods arising from appeals; the amendment takes effect from 1 October 2024.

Withholding of refunds: extension of permissible withholding period and continued set-off against outstanding tax demands under new provisions.
Assessing Officers may adjust refunds against outstanding tax demands and withhold refunds during pending assessment or reassessment subject to prior approval and reasons recorded in writing. The permissible withholding period is extended beyond the assessment date, and additional interest under the refund interest provision is not payable for the duration the refund is lawfully withheld.

Time-limit for appeals to ITAT changed to a two-month period measured from month-end after electronic communication of orders.
The proposal adds penalty orders on undisclosed income arising from search assessments to the list of orders appealable to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, correcting an omission; and it changes limitation computation so appeals may be filed within two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated to the assessee or to the Principal Commissioner/Commissioner to accommodate electronic faceless appeal communications.

Charitable trust regime consolidation: transition to unified registration framework with phased sunsetting and protected investment modes retained.
The proposal phases out the approval route under sub clauses (iv), (v), (vi) and (via) of clause (23C) of section 10 by preventing consideration of applications filed on or after 1 October 2024, while allowing pending applications and existing approvals to continue under the first regime; approved entities may later apply for registration under the sections 11-13 framework, with amendments preserving certain eligible investment modes and enabling the transition.

Condonation of delay in registration applications allows authorities to treat late charitable registration filings as timely if reasonable cause exists.
The amendment authorises the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to condone delay in filing registration applications by trusts and institutions and to treat such applications as filed within time if satisfied there is a reasonable cause for the delay. This power is intended to avert tax liability on accreted income or permanent exit from the exemption regime and takes effect from 1 October 2024.

Section 80G approval timelines rationalised to prevent unintended loss of charitable approval and streamline application processing.
Amendments rationalise filing timelines and the processing procedure for funds and institutions seeking approval under section 80G, addressing cases where entities cannot meet existing deadlines and preventing unintended permanent loss of approval; the change preserves donor deduction eligibility and takes effect from the commencement date specified in the Bill.

Registration timelines for charitable trusts moved to a six-month processing period measured from quarter-end for applications.
Applications by trusts, funds, or institutions seeking registration under section 12AB or approval under section 80G must be processed by the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner within six months from the end of the quarter in which the application is received; this quarter-end computation applies to initial and further or final registration/approval applications and replaces the prior month-end calculation.

Merger of trusts may trigger tax on accreted income; proposed conditions aim to exempt qualifying mergers and clarify compliance.
Proposal: mergers of approved or registered charitable trusts and institutions may attract the tax on accreted income; a new statutory provision will prescribe conditions under which such mergers will not attract the accreted-income regime, specifying qualifying non-attraction safeguards for mergers between entities across the two approval/registration regimes. The amendments are to apply prospectively from the notified commencement date of the finance measures.

Registration option for charitable trusts expanded to allow claiming exemption under additional specified section 10 clauses.
The amendment adds additional section 10 clause references to sub-section (7) of section 11 so that registration under section 12AB becomes inoperative when an entity is approved under those additional clause types; trusts and institutions retain a one-time option to apply to make their section 12AB registration operative, permitting an election between the registration regime and specified section 10 exemption regimes.

Capital gains reform: simplified holding periods, unified long-term rate, higher short-term levy, and removal of indexation.
The Bill simplifies capital gains taxation by creating two holding periods-shorter for listed securities and longer for other assets-raising the specific short-term rate for securities subject to securities transaction tax while unifying long-term gains under a single lower rate with an increased exemption for specified securities; it removes indexation for long-term gains on property, gold and unlisted assets, brings unlisted debentures and bonds to tax at applicable rates, and aligns non-resident and withholding provisions to the new rates, effective from the operative date in the Bill.

Specified Mutual Fund definition revised: funds must invest over sixty five percent in debt/money market, effective April 2026.
The amendment redefines Specified Mutual Fund under section 50AA to mean (a) a mutual fund investing more than sixty five percent of its proceeds in debt and money market instruments, or (b) a fund investing sixty five percent or more of its proceeds in units of such a fund. The change clarifies treatment of ETFs, gold funds and Fund of Funds previously affected by the thirty five percent equity threshold and is proposed to be effective from 1 April 2026 for AY 2026 27 onwards.

TDS rate rationalisation reduces multiple withholding rates to simplified lower bands, retaining specific exceptions for certain payments.
Rationalisation of TDS rates streamlines withholding provisions by lowering multiple prior rates for specified non-salary payments, proposing omission of the provision on mutual fund unit repurchases, and preserving existing withholding regimes for salaries, virtual digital assets, lotteries, immovable property transfers, non-resident payments and contractor payments; implementation is phased on different effective dates to promote administrative simplification and improved taxpayer compliance without changing substantive chargeability.

TDS on insurance commission reduced for non-corporate payees, affecting deduction at credit or payment from the effective date.
The Finance Bill amends withholding tax treatment for remuneration or reward for soliciting or procuring insurance business by reducing the TDS rate applicable to resident non-corporate payees; payers must continue to deduct tax at source when such income is credited or paid under existing triggering rules and modes, with the reduced rate taking effect from the prescribed effective date stated in the amendment.

TDS on life insurance payouts reduced by amendment, lowering withholding obligation on qualifying policy payments for residents.
Section 194DA requires persons paying sums under life insurance policies to deduct tax at source on the income component of such payments, excluding amounts exempt under clause (10D) of section 10. The Finance (No.2) Bill, 2024 proposes a reduction in the withholding rate under Section 194DA, with the amendment to take effect from the first day of October under Clause 54, thereby lowering the deductor's TDS obligation on qualifying life insurance payouts to residents.

TDS on lottery commissions reduced under section 194G, easing withholding obligations for payers from October onward.
Payers of commission, remuneration or prizes on sale or distribution of lottery tickets must deduct tax at source at the statutory withholding rate at the time of credit or payment, whichever is earlier. The Finance Bill amendment (Clause 56) lowers that withholding rate, with the reduction effective from the commencement date specified in the Bill.

TDS on commission and brokerage reduced, altering withholding obligations and the timing of deduction for non individual payors.
Section 194H imposes TDS on persons other than individuals and HUFs for commission or brokerage (excluding insurance commission), requiring deduction at the time of credit or payment. The Finance Bill proposes a reduction in the TDS rate under section 194H, with the amendment to take effect from the stated commencement date, thereby modifying deductor withholding obligations for subsequent payments.