Budget 2026 has been presented by Hon’ble Finance Minister Mrs. Nirmala Sitaraman. This is her consecutive 9th Budget presented in NDA Government. GDP growth rate in the budget has been projected at 7%. In the budget various announcements have been made. The budget focuses on three ‘Kartavya’.
First – Accelerate & sustain economic growth through enhanced productivity and competitiveness
Second – Fulfill aspirations and build capacity, making people strong partners in prosperity
And Third – Sabka Sath, Sabka Vikas – ensure access to resources and opportunities for all
In the Budget Hon’ble Finance Minister has proposed various amendments in Direct and Indirect taxes. This budget was mainly focused on rationalization of provisions and reducing unnecessary compliances and litigation. Various amendments have been proposed to achieve this purpose like, integration of assessment and penalty order, reducing block years for third person only to those years for which information was found.
In order to promote investment in Data centres, Artificial intelligence and electronic equipments various exemptions and tax holidays have been announced in the budget. Various amendments have also been made in TDS and TCS. Also, certain relaxations have been given in penalty and prosecution provisions,.
This budget has also brought various provisions to clarify and rationalize the provisions of income tax. One of the important clarification is notice issued u/s 148A / 148 by JAO is valid. Further, manpower supply has been included in the definition of work to remove ambiguity regarding TDS on such services.
In this write up we have given brief yet meaningful summary of the amendments proposed through this budget in direct taxes. Hope you will find it of use in your business endeavour.