Understand income-tax
Other language: हिंदी
The examples and explanations below are original study material, separate from statutory text. Read the relevant provision's commencement information separately.
Understand the tax year
Section 1(3) sets 1 April 2026 as the Act's commencement, except where otherwise provided. Section 3 uses the financial-year period beginning on 1 April as the ordinary tax year. Always identify the income period before choosing a statutory edition; a filing date alone does not answer that question.
A newly established business or profession, or a newly arising source of income, can have a shorter first tax year under section 3(2). For example, a business set up on 1 December 2026 has its first tax-year period from that date to 31 March 2027. This exception does not move the end of the financial year.
Why the 1961 Act still matters
Repeal is not erasure. Section 536(2)(a) and (b) preserve earlier operation and accrued rights, obligations and liabilities. Clauses (c) and (e) address saved proceedings. An assessment, appeal or notice concerning an earlier income period must not be assigned to the new Act merely because someone reads or receives it after commencement.
Section 536(2)(c) retains the old Act's procedure for specified proceedings concerning tax years beginning before 1 April 2026, including proceedings initiated later. Clause (j) continues specified instruments only insofar as they are consistent with corresponding new provisions. Clause (k) does not revive an expired application or appeal period merely because the new Act permits a longer period. Read the particular saving, not just the word 'repealed'.
Find and cite the right provision
For reference work, record the Act name, income period, section and subsection, edition and any relevant amendment date. Find a provision by number or subject, then read its whole subsection, cross-references, table headings, conditions and Notes. A search excerpt or a rate cell without its qualifying conditions is not a complete citation.
Do not assume an old section number identifies the same subject in the new Act. Use the Department's comparison utility, then verify the actual provision and transition rule. Source footnotes may describe superseded text or a future change; distinguish those notes from the applicable statutory body. These Hindi explanations are educational writing, not an official Hindi translation. Banaka is a reference aid, not a return-filing service or a tax calculator.
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