IT Act 1961
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Amendments to the IT Rules, 2026: Effectuating the Tiger Global Case
On 31st March 2026, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (‘CBDT’) notified amendment to two sub-rules of Rule 128, The Income Tax Rules, 2026 (‘IT Rules, 2026’). Reactions to the amendments are neatly divided: while a few…
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IT Act, 2025
A timeline of the past decade. As I elaborate in a related post - the IT Act, 2025 has a longer (and opaque) history than widely believed.
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Buyback Tax: An Anti-Abuse Measure Wrapped in a Tax
Finance Bill, 2026 proposes to amend buyback tax. Yet again. The proposed amendment simultaneously simplifies and complicates buyback tax. Latter because of the proposal to create a separate tax slab for promoters of companies who participate in…
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Taxation of ESOP-Related Compensation: Reviewing the Flipkart Cases
Introduction In April 2023, the Board of Flipkart Private Limited (‘FPS’), Singapore decided to pay a one-time voluntary compensation - 43.67 US dollars per stock option - to all the option grantees of its Employee Stock…
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The Monsoon of Tax ‘Reform’
It’s raining tax ‘reform’. Income Tax Bill, 2025 (‘IT Bill, 2025’) will soon replace the six decades old Income Tax Act, 1961. Goods and Services Tax (‘GST’) will ostensibly be simplified by Diwali of 2025. And we will…
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Shelf Drilling Judgment: A Case of Interpretive Disagreements
The Supreme Court in a split judgment left unresolved the long standing issue of interplay between Section 144C-Section 153 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘IT Act, 1961’). The absence of a clear resolution while not ideal, provides…
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When A Princess Worried About Tax on Alimony
All things in life have a tax angle, including alimony payments. In this article I elaborate on tax treatment of alimony payments under the Income Tax Act, 1961 (‘IT Act, 1961’). Upfront, these are the three…
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Tax Privacy: To Begin a Conversation …
Income tax law is based on disclosing information to the State. Personal financial information. Bank account statements, investments, salary receipts, rent paid or received, medical expenses, money transferred to spouse, expenses of children, insurance premiums, political…
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Long Wait for GSTATs: July 2017 … and Counting.
GSTATs have been envisaged as the first appellate forum under GST laws. And yet, 7.5 years since implementation of GST, not a single GSTAT is functioning. Reason? Many. Some are easy to identify, others are tough…
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Income Tax Bill, 2025: In Search of a Big Idea
The Department of Revenue claims that Income Tax Bill, 2025 - tabled in the Parliament on 13 February 2025 - marks a significant step towards simplifying the language and structure of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Does it?…
