Search and seizure: uniform quarterly-based time limit for retention approvals and updated cross-references for execution definitions.
The Bill amends section 132 to provide that the time limit for taking approval for retention of seized books of account or documents will be one month from the end of the quarter in which the assessment, reassessment or recomputation order is made, addressing administrative difficulties in group search cases. It also modifies Explanation 1 to section 132 to substitute "authorisation" with "authorisations", and updates Explanation 1 to section 132B to reference section 158B for the meaning of "execution of an authorisation for search or requisition".

Limitation on penalty imposition extended to a uniform quarterly deadline after completion of connected proceedings or receipt of appeals.
The amendment standardises the limitation for imposing penalties under Chapter XXI so that no penalty order may be passed after the expiry of six months from the end of the quarter in which the connected proceedings are completed, the appellate order is received by the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, an order of revision is passed, or the notice for imposition of penalty is issued. A consequential amendment updates the cross-reference in section 246A. These changes take effect from 1 April 2025.

Stay period exclusion clarified: computation excludes from date stay granted until certified vacatur received by tax Commissioner.
The amendment excludes from computation of statutory time limits the period beginning on the date a court stay is granted and ending on the date a certified copy of the order vacating that stay is received by the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner (or the Approving Panel where applicable).

Carryforward of losses limited to eight assessment years for predecessor losses in amalgamations, preventing loss evergreening.
Sections 72A and 72AA are amended to provide that any accumulated loss of an original predecessor entity deemed to be the loss of the successor entity may be carried forward only for eight assessment years immediately succeeding the assessment year in which that loss was first computed for the original predecessor, aligning these provisions with section 72 and preventing evergreening through successive amalgamations.

Multi-year transfer pricing: one ALP can apply to consecutive years, with TPO validation and AO recomputation.
A voluntary multi-year transfer pricing option permits an ALP determined by the TPO for a transaction in a given previous year to apply to similar transactions in the immediately following consecutive years; the assessee must exercise a prescribed option, the TPO must validate it within a set period, and on validation the AO shall recompute total income for those years in conformity with the TPO's ALP while no fresh references for those transactions shall be permitted.

Higher TDS/TCS for non-filers removed, easing withholding obligations and reducing verification and compliance burden for payors.
The proposal omits provisions imposing higher rates of deduction and collection for non-filers of income-tax returns, responding to stakeholder concerns that payors face difficulty verifying filing status and bear increased compliance and capital blockage; the amendment is intended to simplify withholding obligations and reduce verification burdens, effective from the first day of April, 2025.

Perquisite income threshold increase: employer-provided amenities and foreign medical travel may be exempt from perquisite treatment.
Proposed amendment to section 17 would grant rulemaking power to increase the gross total income ceilings for treating employer-provided amenities and benefits as non-perquisites, and to raise the income limit excluding employer-funded foreign medical travel from perquisite treatment; the changes take effect from 1 April 2026 and apply to the subsequent assessment year.

Deduction under Section 80CCD extended to NPS Vatsalya contributions, with withdrawal taxation and partial withdrawal exemption.
Parents or guardians may claim a statutory deduction for amounts paid into a minor's NPS Vatsalya account up to a prescribed ceiling. Amounts for which a deduction is allowed, including any accretions, will be taxed on withdrawal when deposits were made to a minor's account, whereas sums received on account closure due to the minor's death will not be treated as the parent's or guardian's income. Partial withdrawals for defined contingencies are excluded from the parent's or guardian's income to the extent they do not exceed a prescribed percentage of contributions and subject to regulatory conditions.

Exemption for National Savings Scheme withdrawals: qualifying pre-1992 deposits and accrued interest by individuals are excluded from taxation.
Amendment to Section 80CCA exempts withdrawals by individuals of NSS deposits and accrued interest-limited to deposits made before 1 April 1992 for which a deduction was allowed-and applies to withdrawals made on or after 29 August 2024, with retrospective effect from that date.

Annual value of self-occupied property simplified, nil deemed where owner occupies or cannot occupy for any reason.
The annual value of a property used as the owner's residence shall be taken as nil if the owner occupies it for residence or cannot actually occupy it for any reason; the existing restriction limiting this benefit to a specified limited number of houses remains unchanged and the amendment applies prospectively under the Finance Bill.

Obligation to furnish crypto-asset transaction information: reporting entities must file prescribed statements and correct defects promptly.
Proposed section 285BAA mandates that prescribed reporting entities furnish statements of crypto-asset transactions to the prescribed income-tax authority in prescribed form, manner and time, allows the authority to intimate defects and permit rectification within a prescribed period, treats unrectified defects as inaccurate information, enables issuance of notices to require late filers to submit statements, requires disclosure and correction of discovered inaccuracies, and empowers the Central Government to prescribe registration, information maintenance, and due diligence obligations for identification of crypto-asset users or owners; the virtual digital asset definition is also expanded to include crypto-assets relying on cryptographically secured distributed ledgers.

Tonnage tax option timeframe extended - order window lengthened to quarter-end for new applications, easing verification.
The amendment extends the decision period for applications to opt into the tonnage tax scheme: where an application is received on or after 1 April 2025 the Joint Commissioner must pass the written order approving or rejecting the option before the expiry of three months from the end of the quarter in which the application was received, providing additional time for verification, inspections, and an opportunity of being heard.

Limitation for deeming tax-collector default: exclusion of court stay periods aligns time-limit rules with reassessment principles.
The amendment makes the limitation period for deeming a person an assessee in default for failure to collect tax subject to exclusion of periods such as court stays by applying the exclusion and suspension principles of the general reassessment framework to that time limit; the change is to take effect from the first day of April, 2025.

Exemption from prosecution for delayed TCS payment where remittance occurs by prescribed quarterly statement deadline.
Amendment provides that prosecution for failure to pay tax collected at source shall not be instituted if payment has been made to the Central Government on or before the time prescribed for filing the quarterly statement under the proviso to sub section (3) of the tax collected at source provision, thereby conditioning criminal liability on meeting the quarterly statement remittance deadline.

Penalty authority of Assessing Officer expanded; prior Joint Commissioner approval required for penalties exceeding prescribed statutory limit.
Penalties under specified sections will be levied by the Assessing Officer instead of the Joint Commissioner, subject to the prior approval requirement where penalties exceed the statutory threshold in sub section (2) of section 274; a consequential amendment to clause (n) of sub section (1) of section 246A is proposed. Section 271BB, a penalty tied to an omitted parent provision, is proposed to be omitted. The amendments are to take effect from the first day of April following enactment.

Faceless schemes notification: Government may issue ongoing directions allowing notifications beyond the prior cutoff to operationalise schemes.
The amendment removes the statutory end date for notifying faceless schemes so the Central Government may issue directions to notify and operationalise faceless procedures under the direct tax statute beyond the prior cut off, following prior extensions due to implementation challenges; the change takes effect from the first day of April after enactment.

Processing period for immunity applications extended to a longer disposal timeframe for Assessing Officers, effective from April.
The amendment extends the Assessing Officer's processing period for applications seeking immunity from penalty and prosecution from one month to three months measured from the end of the month in which the application is received. The current filing requirement that an application for immunity from penalty be made within one month from the end of the month in which the relevant order is received remains as stated. The amendment is proposed to take effect from the first day of April, 2025.

Updated return time-limit extended to encourage voluntary compliance, with higher additional tax rates for later filings.
Extension of the filing window for updated returns from two years to four years with a graded schedule of higher additional income-tax rates for filings after two, three, and up to four years; filing barred where a show-cause notice has been issued after thirty-six months, subject to an exception if a later determination finds the notice unwarranted. Effective 1 April 2025.

Tax exemption for SUUTI extended to March 31, 2027, barring income and related taxes on its receipts.
An amendment to sub section (1) of section 13 of the UTI Repeal Act, 2002 will provide that, notwithstanding the Income tax Act or any other enactment, no income tax or any other tax shall be payable by the Administrator in relation to the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India for the period beginning on the appointed day and ending on the 31st day of March, 2027; the amendment takes effect from 1st April, 2025.

Provisional assessment time-limit set with limited extension; voluntary post-clearance revision permitted; Interim Board to exercise Settlement Commission powers.
A definite time limit is imposed for provisional assessments under Section 18: finalisation within two years with a possible one year Commissioner extension and suspension grounds; Section 18A establishes voluntary post clearance revision treated as self assessment permitting duty payment or refund claims, with refund limitation of one year from payment and the relevant date for revised entry being the date of payment. Amendments also define an Interim Board and allocate Settlement Commission powers to it.