57th GST Council meeting: what was recommended
The GST Council met on 8 October 2026 and recommended process reforms for registration, returns, refunds and adjudication, plus a few rate clarifications.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026, replacing the Income-tax Act, 1961. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 were notified on 20 March 2026.
Tax Year replaces Previous Year and Assessment Year
The new Act uses a single Tax Year, which is the same as the financial year. Income earned from 1 April 2026 to 31 March 2027 belongs to Tax Year 2026-27.
Which law applies to which return
- FY 2025-26 (AY 2026-27): still filed under the 1961 Act, with the old forms and section numbers.
- Tax Year 2026-27 onwards: governed by the 2025 Act and the renumbered forms.
Forms are renumbered
The Rules reduce and renumber the forms. For example, the tax audit forms 3CA, 3CB and 3CD are consolidated into a single Form 26 for Tax Year 2026-27 onwards.
What businesses should do
- Update payroll, accounting and ERP masters with the new section codes and form numbers.
- Use the new TDS statement forms from the first quarter of Tax Year 2026-27; returns for earlier periods stay on the old forms.
- Train your accounts team on the new terminology.
We can map your current compliance calendar to the new Act. Talk to us.
