New Income Tax Bill introduced by Nirmala Sitharaman in Parliament, Opposition stages walkout

New Delhi: Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has tabled the Income Tax Bill 2025 in the Lok Sabha. The new bill aims to simplify the terminology used in tax laws in India, thereby making it easier for taxpayers to pay taxes and file returns.

As soon as Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the bill amid a ruckus in the Parliament, several Opposition MPs were seen staging a walkout. It is not clear how many MPs walked out of the session in total.

Speaking on objection raised by Opposition MP from Kerala’s Kollam, NK Premachandran, on the new bill having more sections than the previous Income Tax Act from 1961, Sitharaman said, “He should understand where the law is today and where it is being reduced.”

“The Income Tax Act was originally enacted in 1961 and come into effect in 1962. At that time, they had only 298 sections…But as time went by…many more sections were added. As it stands today, there are 819 sections,” Sitharaman said. “From that 819, we’re bringing it down to 536. So he should look at what it is today,” she added.

She claimed that 4,000 amendments have been made to the 1961 act since it was put into force, which are “being looked at now”.

On TMC MP Professor Sougata Ray’s objection about the changes in the new tax bill being “mechanical”, the minister responded, “They’re not mechanical changes. Substantial changes are being made. Number of words have come down by half. Sections and chapters have come down. It is in plain simple English and plain simple Hindi.”

Sitharaman also suggested that the new Income Tax Bill 2025 be sent to a newly-constituted Select House Committee. “The terms and conditions regarding the committee will be decided by [Speaker Om Birla],” she said.