The Income Tax Department has released the Administrative Handbook 2026, presenting a comprehensive account of the Department’s key achievements, reforms, and administrative innovations undertaken during FY 2025-26. According to the Preface of the Handbook, the year has been defined by landmark policy reforms, strengthened governance mechanisms and enhanced taxpayer-centric initiatives.
A major highlight of the year has been the enactment of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which represents one of the most significant tax reforms in recent decades. The reform initiative—originating in July 2024 and culminating in its enactment on 21st August 2025—aimed at simplification, transparency, and ease of compliance. The new legislation reduces the number of sections from 819 to 536, eliminates redundancies, restructures complex provisos, and consolidates overlapping provisions, while ensuring that the core tax policy remains intact. As detailed in the Handbook, the Act will come into force on 1st April 2026, marking a decisive shift toward a simpler and more efficient tax administration framework.
In addition to legislative reforms, the Department undertook extensive internal strengthening measures. Notably, the Search and Seizure Manual, 2025, along with eighteen departmental office-procedure manuals, was released to reinforce procedural clarity and operational uniformity. The Directorate of Vigilance published the Handbook of Do’s and Don’ts for Field Formations to bolster ethical conduct, discipline, and accountability among field officers.
During the year, the Department also focused on curbing misuse of tax provisions through the release of the booklet “Misuse of Income-tax Provisions by RUPPs”. At the 22nd All India TDS Conference, an Approach Paper on strengthening NUDGE (Non-Intrusive Usage of Data to Guide and Enable) measures was issued. The Handbook notes that the OECD’s 2024 report commended India’s NUDGE awareness campaign as a successful example of leveraging global tax transparency data to enhance voluntary compliance—underscoring the Department’s shift toward risk-based, analytics-driven compliance systems.
On the taxpayers’ outreach front, the Directorate of Income Tax (Public Relations, Publications & Publicity), CBDT, organised widespread awareness programmes across Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Taxpayers’ Hubs were set up in regions including Siliguri, Vadodara, Chandigarh, Madurai and Puducherry, ensuring wide national coverage. Fifty multilingual brochures on key topics such as the Income-tax Act, 2025, TDS, MSMEs and cooperatives were published to enhance public understanding in vernacular languages. In collaboration with CBSE, the Department also launched Motu & Patlu-based income-tax comic books to raise awareness among school students in an engaging manner.
The Handbook further records achievements of the Department’s officers and staff in national and international sports, reflecting the discipline, commitment, and excellence that underpin the ethos of public service.
The Administrative Handbook 2026 serves as a key reference document for officers, reflecting the Department’s commitment to transparent administration, informed decision-making, and the strengthening of India’s revenue ecosystem. Taken together, the reforms and initiatives of 2025-26 demonstrate the Income Tax Department’s sustained dedication to building a taxpayer-friendly, technology-driven, and ethically governed tax administration.
The Hankbook can be accessed at: https://a2ztaxcorp.net/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Income-Tax-Administrative-Handbook-2026.pdf
