Insights · Income-tax Act 2025
Income-tax Act 2025 Section Mapping for Cross-Border Work: Old vs New Sections and Forms
The 1961-to-2025 section and form map a cross-border practitioner needs: non-resident TDS, lower deduction, treaty relief, transfer pricing, residence and the transition rules.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026 and renumbered almost every provision a cross-border practitioner uses. Section 195 is now section 393(2). Section 197 is section 395. Section 90 is section 159. Transfer pricing has moved from sections 92 to 92F to sections 161 to 173, and the forms have new numbers too: Form 15CA and 15CB are Form 145 and 146, Form 13 is Form 128, Form 10F is Form 42 and Form 3CEB is Form 48. This page maps the provisions that come up every week in inbound and outbound work, and flags the ones we could not confirm from an official source.
Key points
- The 2025 Act applies to tax year 2026-27 onwards. The 1961 Act continues to govern earlier years, including assessments, appeals and transfer pricing for transactions up to 31 March 2026
- Withholding on payments to non-residents: section 195 and section 194E become section 393(2)
- Lower or nil deduction certificate: section 197 becomes section 395(1), and Form 13 becomes Form 128
- Treaty relief: section 90 becomes section 159, and Form 10F becomes Form 42
- Transfer pricing: sections 92 to 92F become sections 161 to 173, and Form 3CEB becomes Form 48
First check the year, then the section
The most common mistake since April is citing the wrong Act. The rule is simple. Income of tax year 2026-27 (the year that began on 1 April 2026) and later is governed by the 2025 Act. Anything earlier stays under the 1961 Act, which is saved for that purpose by the transition provision in section 536 of the new Act. So a notice for assessment year 2025-26, an appeal already pending, or a Form 3CEB for financial year 2025-26 will still cite the old section numbers, and your reply should too.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes has published an official utility that maps 1961 provisions to the 2025 Act and a form navigator for the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The tables below are drawn from those and from the Act as amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Residence, scope and source rules
| Subject | 1961 Act | 2025 Act |
|---|---|---|
| Scope of total income | Section 5 | Section 5 |
| Residence, including the 182-day, 120-day and deemed residency rules and place of effective management for companies | Section 6 | Section 6 |
| Income deemed to accrue or arise in India | Section 9(1)(i) to (viii) | Section 9, now sub-sections (2) to (8) |
Section 9 kept its number but not its structure. The old clauses (i) to (viii) are now separate sub-sections, so a treaty analysis that used to say “section 9(1)(vii)” for fees for technical services needs the new sub-section reference. The substance of the source rules has not changed. Our guide to residential status for Indians in the UAE covers the section 6 tests in detail.
Withholding on payments to non-residents
| Subject | 1961 Act and form | 2025 Act and form |
|---|---|---|
| Tax deduction on payments to non-residents | Section 195 (and 194E for entertainers and sportspersons) | Section 393(2) |
| Information on remittances: remitter’s declaration and accountant’s certificate | Section 195(6), Form 15CA and Form 15CB | Section 397(3)(d), Form 145 and Form 146 |
| Payee’s application for lower or nil deduction | Section 197, Form 13 | Section 395(1), Form 128 |
| Payer’s application to determine the chargeable part of a payment | Section 195(2), Form 15E | Section 395(2), Form 129 |
| Self-declaration for no deduction | Section 197A, Forms 15G and 15H | Section 393(6), Form 121 |
| Consequences of failure to deduct or pay | Section 201 | Section 398 |
| Higher rate where the payee has no PAN | Section 206AA | Section 397(2) |
| Higher rate for non-filers | Section 206AB | Omitted |
The rates for non-residents did not change with the renumbering. A non-resident entertainer is still taxed at 20% of gross receipts plus surcharge and cess, and a foreign company at 35% plus surcharge and cess on business income. We explain the new withholding provision in section 393: TDS on non-resident payments, the remittance forms in Form 145 and Form 146, and the certificate route in Form 128 for non-residents.
Treaty relief and foreign tax credit
| Subject | 1961 Act and form | 2025 Act and form |
|---|---|---|
| Relief under a tax treaty (DTAA) | Section 90 | Section 159 |
| Information from a non-resident claiming treaty benefit | Form 10F | Form 42 |
| Statement of foreign tax credit claimed by a resident | Form 67 | Form 44 |
The treaty override is intact: where a treaty is more beneficial, it applies, provided the non-resident has a tax residency certificate and gives the prescribed information. See Form 42 and the TRC for what a payer should collect.
Transfer pricing and interest limitation
| Subject | 1961 Act | 2025 Act |
|---|---|---|
| Income from international and specified domestic transactions at arm’s length | Section 92 | Section 161 |
| Associated enterprise | Section 92A | Section 162 |
| Specified domestic transaction | Section 92BA | Section 164 |
| Computation of arm’s length price | Section 92C | Section 165 |
| Reference to the Transfer Pricing Officer | Section 92CA | Section 166 |
| Safe harbour | Section 92CB | Section 167 |
| Advance pricing agreement | Sections 92CC and 92CD | Sections 168 and 169 |
| Documentation, master file and country-by-country report | Section 92D | Section 171 |
| Accountant’s report | Section 92E, Form 3CEB | Section 172, Form 48 |
| Definitions | Section 92F | Section 173 |
| Limitation on interest deduction | Section 94B | Section 177 |
One change is substantive rather than cosmetic: the 2025 Act says income is to be “determined” having regard to the arm’s length price, rather than “computed”, and confirms that the plus or minus 3% tolerance band applies even where a single price is determined. Transfer pricing for transactions up to 31 March 2026 remains under Chapter X of the 1961 Act, so the Form 3CEB for financial year 2025-26 is still filed under section 92E. Our note on India-UAE transfer pricing works through a typical group.
Company tax and administration
| Subject | 1961 Act and form | 2025 Act and form |
|---|---|---|
| 22% concessional rate for domestic companies | Section 115BAA | Section 200 |
| 15% rate for new manufacturing companies (closed to new entrants) | Section 115BAB | Section 201 |
| New tax regime for individuals | Section 115BAC | Section 202 |
| Minimum alternate tax | Section 115JB | Section 206 |
| Dispute Resolution Committee | Section 245MA | Section 379 |
| Annual statement of an Indian liaison office | Section 285, Form 49C | Section 505, Form 162 |
The General Anti-Avoidance Rule is retained with the same thresholds and approval process, according to the CBDT’s transition FAQs. Rates for companies are covered in India corporate tax rates for tax year 2026-27.
Numbers we have not confirmed
We have not listed a new section number unless it appears in the Act as published by the CBDT or in its official navigator. That leaves out, for now, the Dispute Resolution Panel, the GAAR sections, section 9A, section 115A and most penalty provisions. For those, check the CBDT utility against the current text of the Act before citing a number in a return, an agreement or a reply to a notice. Section numbers in the Bill as introduced in February 2025 do not always match the Act as passed.
What to update now
- Contracts. Gross-up and tax clauses that cite “section 195” still work in substance, but new agreements should cite section 393 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 or use a neutral phrase such as “the applicable withholding provision”.
- Vendor onboarding packs. Replace requests for Form 10F with Form 42, and check that the tax residency certificate covers the Indian tax year in which you pay.
- ERP and TDS masters. Section codes in accounting software and TDS return utilities have changed. Payments made from April 2026 should carry the new codes.
- Board and investor documents. Resolutions approving remittances, lower deduction certificates or treaty positions should cite the provision in force when the payment is made.
Our international taxation team reviews withholding positions, remittance certificates and treaty claims under both Acts, and our TDS gross-up calculator works out the withholding on a payment in seconds.
For the domestic provisions individuals and small businesses use most, FilingBase, our compliance platform, has worked guides on Section 80C, now section 123 and on presumptive taxation under section 58.