Union Budget 2026-27 - Finance Bill, 2026

Section 195 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (hereinafter referred as ‘the Act’) provides for tax on income referred to in section 102 to 106. Section 102 to 106 provides for income on account of, unexplained credits, unexplained investment, unexplained asset, unexplained expenditure and amount borrowed or repaid through negotiable instrument, hundi, etc.

2. Section 195(1) further provides that where total income of an assesse includes any income referred to in section 102 or 103 or 104 or 105 or 106, the income-tax calculated on such income will be charged at the rate of 60%.

3. Further, section 443 provides that, penalty amounting to 10% of the tax payable under section 195(1)(i), on an assessee if the income determined in his case for any tax year includes any income referred to in section 102,103,104,105 or 106.

4. With regard to the section 195 of the Act on the tax on income referred to in section 102 to 106, it is considered that the tax rate of 60% which is currently charged on income referred to in section 102 to 106 as per section 195, is not proportionate and need rationalisation. Therefore, to rationalise the same, the tax rate of 30% is proposed under section 195 of the Act.

5. Further, it is also proposed to bring the penalty rate on income determined by Assessing Officer which is in nature of income referred to in section 102 to 106 at par with the rate charged for misreporting of income under section 439. Accordingly, penalty provision under section 443 (penalty for income referred to in section 102 to 106) is proposed to be omitted and, in respect of such income, penalty is proposed to be included in the cases of under-reporting of income in consequence of misreporting under section 439(11) of the Act.

6. Therefore, it is proposed to amend section 195 to reduce the tax rate from 60% to 30%. Further, it is also proposed to omit penalty under section 443 and subsume this penalty under section 439(11) of the Act.

7. This amendment will take effect from the 1st day of April, 2026 and shall apply for tax year 2026-27 and subsequent tax years.

[Clause 46, 84, 86]

 

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Full Text:

Union Budget 2026-27 - Finance Bill, 2026

Tax on unexplained income cut to 30% and penalty treatment moved into the misreporting under reporting regime. The proposal reduces the special tax charge on income determined as unexplained under sections 102-106 from 60% to 30% by amending section 195 and omits the standalone 10% penalty under section 443, subsuming penalty treatment into the under reporting/misreporting regime of section 439(11); the changes take effect from 1 April 2026 for tax year 2026-27 and thereafter.