"Normal Parliamentary Procedure": Kiren Rijiju On New Income Tax Bill

Amid criticism of the new Income Tax Bill's withdrawal from the Lok Sabha, Union Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju said that introducing a Bill in Parliament after necessary amendments is a normal procedure.

The new Income Tax Bill was withdrawn from the Lok Sabha on Friday and will be tabled in the House by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday after incorporating around 285 suggestions by a Select Committee, BJP member Baijayant Panda. Concerns were raised over the Bill's withdrawal, especially on social media.

"It is being presumed that there will be an absolutely new bill, ignoring the earlier bill for which a lot of work was done, and all the work done and time spent will go down," Mr Rijiju said.

"It is a normal convention that when a Select Committee submits a report and there are several amendments which are suggested and accepted by the government, the earlier bill is withdrawn and a new bill with all the amendments as accepted is introduced, so that it becomes easier for the Parliament to consider and pass the bill," he added.

Explaining the three motions needed to be moved to incorporate each amendment, Mr Rijiju said the procedure is workable for a smaller number of amendments. In case of a high number of amendments, the lengthy process is avoided by withdrawing the Bill and introducing it again after incorporating all changes accepted by the government.

The minister said there should be no apprehension that the new Income Tax Bill, which is going to be introduced on Monday, will be different. Mr Rijiju stated that all the hard work done in the last six months will not go to waste. "On the contrary, the hard work done by each one and the suggestions will get reflected in the new Income Tax Bill," he said.

The Income Tax Bill, 2025, was first introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13 to replace the existing Income Tax Act, 1961. It aims to simplify India's decades-old tax structure, cut down legal confusion, and help individual taxpayers and MSMEs avoid unnecessary litigation. The new measures will play a significant role in creating a fair and equitable system of direct taxation that ensures no additional burden of direct taxes on the working and middle-class population of the country.

The new Income Tax Bill will make filing taxes easier for common citizens and small businesses.