Comparison of section 402 'Interpretation.' between the Income-Tax Act, 2025 (as passed) and the Income-Tax Bill, 2025 (as originally introduced)

Withholding definitions expanded to include both incorrect deduction and collection rates, increasing administrative scrutiny of statements.

Section 402 provides the definitional framework for deduction and collection at source, specifying who is a person responsible for paying, buyer, seller and other categories, and defining transactional terms including rent, immovable property and digital-economy roles. The Act expands the concept of an 'incorrect claim apparent from any information in the statement' to cover both incorrect rates of deduction and incorrect rates of collection, thereby enabling identification of filing errors from statements alone. Turnover thresholds and carve-outs determine when withholding obligations arise; several definitions rely on cross-references to external provisions.