Bengaluru, Sep 7 (PTI) The Income Tax Department has conducted 304 outreach programmes across the country since April 2026, CBDT Member Pallavi Agarwal said on Monday.
These sessions were aimed at familiarising taxpayers, professionals and other stakeholders with the Income Tax Act, 2025, the Income Tax Rules, 2026, and the redesigned tax forms.
She was addressing the Bangalore Chamber of Industry and Commerce conference on the new Income Tax Act and Rules here.
The Central Board of Direct Taxes member Agarwal said the new tax framework is aimed at reducing the compliance burden, providing greater clarity and certainty, and making tax administration more citizen-centric, technology-driven and efficient.
Highlighting the impact of recent reforms, she said more than 1.32 crore updated returns had been filed over the past four years, resulting in Rs 16,083 crore in additional tax payments under the Department’s NUDGE (Non-Intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable) campaign.
Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax, Karnataka and Goa Region, Vidisha Kalra said the new framework aimed to combine continuity and certainty in policy with greater simplicity and clarity.
Kalra said Karnataka had emerged as the second-largest contributor to direct tax collections after Mumbai, with net tax collections already close to Rs 1.25 lakh crore.
She attributed the performance to strong economic activity, greater self-compliance, sectoral outreach, digital initiatives and improved guidance from tax professionals and industry bodies.
According to a statement, for Assessment Year 2026-27, more than 97 per cent of ITR-1 and over 95 per cent of ITR-2 returns were filed under the new regime.
The department added 49 lakh first-time filers by July 31, 2026. Of the returns furnished up to August 31, 2026, 2.54 crore, or 32.48 per cent, were processed within one day of filing, while refunds were issued for around 65 lakh returns, it said.
The department said it currently interfaces with approximately eight crore taxpayers and collects nearly 600 crore transaction details through mechanisms such as TDS, Statements of Financial Transactions and the Annual Information Statement.
Its AI-enabled virtual assistant, Kar Sathi, has recorded 54.83 lakh sessions involving queries related to the new Act, Rules and forms.
Tax forms have been re-engineered to make them more user-friendly, standardised, interactive and pre-filled, it said.
The conference covered the new Income Tax Act and Rules, undisclosed foreign asset holdings and the Black Money Act, organisational compliance, transfer pricing, thin capitalisation, international taxation and Double Taxation Avoidance Agreements.
The dignitaries launched Changeover 2026, a handbook highlighting FAQs on the interplay between, and transition from, the Income-tax Act, 1961 to the Income Tax Act, 2025, the statement added. PTI AMP SSK
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