On 6 August 2026, Lok Sabha passed the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to introduce a series of tax and regulatory measures aimed at providing tax certainty, promoting fund management activities, supporting electronics manufacturing, facilitating diamond trading, encouraging investment in Government securities and simplifying the framework governing digital payments.
Introduced in the Lok Sabha on 4 August 2026, the Bill seeks to replace the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026.
Key Highlights:
⮚ Amendments to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
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The Bill proposes to amend Section 10A of the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 by replacing the reference to electronic payment modes prescribed under the Income-tax Act with electronic payment modes that may be notified by the Central Government.
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The amendment seeks to delink the fee-free digital payment framework from the Income-tax Act and provide flexibility to the Central Government in notifying eligible electronic payment modes.
⮚ Amendments to the Income-tax Act, 2025
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The Bill substitutes Schedule I of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and rationalises conditions relating to eligible investment funds and eligible fund managers to promote fund management activities and provide tax certainty.
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The permissible Indian participation threshold in an eligible investment fund continues to be capped at 5% of the corpus, subject to specified carve-outs and a four-month curing mechanism.
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The Bill extends certain tax exemptions available to contract manufacturing arrangements relating to specified electronic goods up to the tax year ending 31 March 2041.
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The definition of “specified electronic goods” is proposed to include mobile phones, laptops, tablets, servers, related sub-assemblies, hearables, wearables and accessories.
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The Bill introduces an exemption for a Foreign Institutional Investor (FII) in respect of interest income and capital gains arising from Government securities, subject to prescribed reporting requirements.
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A similar exemption is proposed for the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in respect of interest income and capital gains arising from Government securities.
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The Bill introduces a new tax exemption for income arising from the sale of rough diamonds by eligible foreign companies engaged in diamond mining, trading, broking, aggregation, tender or auction activities.
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The exemption will be available for transactions carried out in notified special zones and is proposed to remain available until 31 March 2041.
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The Bill introduces a tax exemption for income arising from the sale of components by foreign companies that store such components in customs bonded warehouses for supply to contract manufacturers engaged in the manufacture of specified electronic goods.
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The exemption is intended to support electronics manufacturing supply chains and will be available up to 31 March 2041.
⮚ Amendments to the Finance Act, 2026
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The Bill amends the Finance Act, 2026 to increase the surcharge applicable to specified special purpose vehicles opting for the new tax regime from 10% to 25%.
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The Bill also provides dividend-related relief to unit holders of business trusts in specified cases.