Time limit for deeming assessee in default reduced to six years for deduction and collection; correction statement extends limitation.
Amendments to section 201 and insertion of sub section (7A) in section 206C impose a uniform limitation: no order deeming a person an assessee in default shall be made after six years from the end of the financial year in which payment/credit occurred or tax was collectible, or two years from the end of the financial year in which a correction statement is delivered, whichever is later; effective 1 April 2025.

Expanded TDS statement processing allows tax board to scheme for processing statements filed by non-deductors.
Amendment expands the scope of Section 200A to permit the Board to make a scheme for processing statements of tax deduction or correction statements filed by persons other than the deductor, addressing filings like exchange-submitted statements where the deductee provides tax details, with effect from the first day of April, 2025.

Lower deduction certificate extended to transactions under 194Q and 206C(1H) to reduce overlapping withholding and collection burdens.
The proposal amends subsection (1) of section 197 and subsection (9) of section 206C to include the buyer-side withholding provision and the seller-side collection provision within the scope of a lower deduction/collection certificate, allowing taxpayers to seek reduced withholding or collection rates to address blocked funds, refund processes, and overlapping compliance obligations.

TCS exemption to allow no or lower collection from notified exempt persons, easing compliance for tax exempt entities.
The Central Government is empowered to notify, in the Official Gazette, persons or classes of persons-including institutions, associations or bodies-for whom no TCS shall be collected or for whom TCS shall be collected at a lower rate in respect of specified transactions; this addresses cases where entities with tax-exempt income and no return-filing obligation nonetheless face TCS, and the amendment prescribes a prospective commencement for the relief.

Time limit for correction statements: limits post filing revisions of TDS/TCS statements, imposing multi year finality to filings.
Imposes a six year cut off for delivering correction statements for TDS and TCS: no correction statement may be delivered after six years from the end of the financial year in which the original statement was delivered, thereby providing finality to TDS/TCS filings and preventing indefinite post filing revisions.

Penalty for failure to furnish statements: shortened compliance window limits penalty relief after late TDS/TCS filing.
The penalty provision for failure to furnish TDS/TCS statements is amended so that no penalty applies only if, after paying TDS/TCS with fees and interest to the Central Government, the person files the TDS/TCS statement within a shortened compliance period measured from the time prescribed for furnishing such statement.

Furnishing obligation for liaison offices: late filing draws daily penalty with a capped alternative and reasonable cause defence.
Non-resident liaison offices must furnish an annual statement of activities within a period to be prescribed by Rules. Failure to furnish will attract a penalty of one thousand rupees per day where the default does not exceed three months, and one lakh rupees otherwise, subject to relief if the assessee proves reasonable cause; the amendment is prospective and adjusts penalty provisions in the compliance framework.

Determination of Arm's Length Price expanded to include unreported specified domestic transactions by the Transfer Pricing Officer.
The amendment enables the Transfer Pricing Officer to determine and compute the Arm's Length Price for specified domestic transactions that were not referred by the Assessing Officer or not disclosed in the taxpayer's transfer pricing audit report, extending to SDTs the existing procedural powers previously available only for international transactions; the change takes effect from 1 April 2025 and applies to the relevant assessment year and subsequent years.

Aadhaar Enrolment ID discontinuation removes enrolment id use for PAN and returns, requiring affected PAN holders to intimate Aadhaar.
The proviso allowing quoting of an Aadhaar Enrolment ID instead of an Aadhaar number for PAN allotment and income tax returns is proposed to be discontinued effective 1 October 2024 because expanded Aadhaar coverage makes the enrolment ID option a risk for PAN duplication and misuse; persons allotted PAN using an Enrolment ID must intimate their Aadhaar number by a notified date.

Advance Rulings withdrawal extended for transferred applications, allowing BAR to accept and record withdrawals within specified windows.
Amendments permit withdrawal of applications transferred from the former Authority for Advance Rulings to the Board for Advance Rulings where no order under the relevant provision has been passed, by allowing applicants to apply for withdrawal by 31st October, 2024; the Board may, upon such application, order the transferred application to be rejected as withdrawn on or before 31st December, 2024, with the amendment taking effect from 1st October, 2024.

Empowerment to refer best judgement assessments back to Assessing Officer with a prescribed time limit for fresh assessment.
The Bill proposes empowering the Commissioner (Appeals) to set aside best judgement assessments made under section 144 and refer the case to the Assessing Officer for a fresh assessment, and proposes a consequential amendment to section 153(3) to prescribe a time limit for disposal of cases so referred; the amendment applies to appellate orders passed on or after the specified commencement.

Penalty for inaccurate reporting clarified to include due diligence failures; reasonable cause defence added under amended provisions.
The amendment specifies that penalty applies where a person furnishing statements under section 285BA either furnishes inaccurate information or fails to comply with prescribed due diligence, to align with the AEOI/CRS framework. It further adds the penalty provision to the scope of section 273B, allowing a reasonable cause defence against imposition of the penalty. The changes are enacted prospectively as provided in the Finance Bill.

Tax clearance certificate requirement now covers Black Money Act liabilities, affecting exit permissions from India.
The amendment adds liabilities under the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 to the list of tax statutes whose outstanding liabilities may render it necessary for a person domiciled in India to obtain a tax clearance certificate before leaving the country, while preserving the proviso requiring recorded reasons and prior approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner; the amendment takes effect from 1 October 2024.

Assessment time-limits revised: new deadlines for returns under administrative orders and revived block assessments procedures
Amendments revise time-limits: assessments on returns filed following administrative directions may be completed within twelve months from the end of the financial year of filing; fresh assessments after appellate or supervisory orders will include cases set aside by the Commissioner (Appeals); timelines are specified for revived proceedings following annulment of block assessments; and search-period exclusions are adjusted so the limitation date falls at the end of the month after exclusion. A consequential provision applies return-obligations to returns furnished under administrative orders. Effective from 1 October 2024.

Deductibility under Section 80G updated to specify National Sports Development Fund as eligible recipient; applies prospectively.
Section 80G is amended to specify that donations to the National Sports Development Fund established by the Central Government are deductible in computing total income, replacing the earlier reference to the National Sports Fund; the amendment is prospective and will apply to subsequent assessment years.

Tax provision amendment: removal of National Housing Bank references in income recognition rules for housing finance companies.
Amendment proposes deleting references to the National Housing Bank in section 43D, removing the clause on public companies engaged in housing finance and related explanations that linked recognition of interest income on prescribed bad or doubtful debts to NHB guidelines, and aligning tax text with the regulatory transfer of housing finance companies to the Reserve Bank of India; the amendment is effective from 1 April 2025 and applies to subsequent assessment years.

Asset recovery: amendment enables liabilities under the Black Money Act to be recovered from seized or requisitioned assets.
The amendment adds a reference to the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 to Section 132B of the Income-tax Act, authorising recovery of existing liabilities under the Black Money Act from assets seized or requisitioned under section 132, with prospective effect from the 1st day of October, 2024.

Time limits for responses under benami property procedure extended; provisional attachment decision lengthened and statement referral increased, effective October.
Amendments to section 24 fix procedural timelines: benamidar and beneficial owner must file explanations within three months from the end of the month of notice; the Initiating Officer's period to provisionally attach or decide attachment matters is extended to four months from the end of the month of notice; and the period to prepare and refer the statement of the case to the Adjudicating Authority is increased to one month from the end of the month in which the attachment order is passed.

Immunity for benamidars: conditional immunity offered to encourage full disclosure, withdrawable for falsehood or concealment.
Insertion of Section 55A permits the Initiating Officer, with previous sanction of the competent authority, to tender conditional immunity from penalty under section 53 to non-beneficial-owner persons involved in benami transactions in exchange for a full and true disclosure; accepted immunity renders them immune from prosecution and penalty to the extent tendered, but the Initiating Officer may record non compliance or falsehood and, with sanction, withdraw immunity, enabling prosecution and imposition of penalties for the offence or related offences.

Proof of origin rules updated to accept diverse trade agreement documentation, including self certification, facilitating trade.
The Customs Act amendments permit varied forms of proof of origin, including self certification, to align with trade agreements; empower the Central Government to proscribe specific manufacturing or other operations in warehouses; and expand references from "a class of importers or exporters" to include "any other persons," broadening the scope of certain customs provisions.