What to Read in Indian Express Editorial( Topic and Syllabus wise)

EDITORIAL 1: Key features of Income Tax Bill, 2025

Context

Recently, Parliament passed a new income tax Bill to replace the six-decade-old Income Tax Act, 1961 which is likely to come into effect from April 1, 2026.

The Key features

• The new Income-tax Bill, 2025 was first introduced in February, and then sent to a Parliament Select Committee.
• On August 12, the government introduced a new version, the Income-Tax (No.2) Bill, 2025, incorporating most recommendations of the Committee.
• The first draft of the Bill, introduced in February, had included a provision that implied that taxpayers could only claim a refund if they had filed tax returns on or before the due date.The new version has removed this provision.
• Recognising the potential for this to cause undue hardship and create ambiguity, the newly introduced Bill has completely omitted this restrictive clause.
• The new Bill also clarified that there will be nil TCS on Liberalised Remittance Scheme (LRS) remittances for education purposes financed by any financial institution, a provision that had gone missing in the earlier version.

Changes for corporate taxpayers

• The Bill has corrected other drafting errors such as those related to inter-corporate dividend deductions for companies availing concessional tax rates.
• The applicability of the Alternate Minimum Tax (AMT) for Limited Liability Partnerships (LLPs) has been aligned with the existing provisions of the I-T Act, by removing the expanded scope that would have included LLPs not claiming specific tax benefits and attracted a higher rate of 18.5 per cent as against the preferential rate of 12.5 per cent.
• The Bill has also allowed taxpayers who do not have any I-T liability to obtain a nil-TDS certificate.
• Additionally, the Bill has been tweaked to remove ambiguities related to transfer pricing provisions along with changes relating to the carry-forward and set-off of losses.
• The reference to the beneficial owner has been omitted to align with Section 79 of the Income-tax Act, 1961,along with a clarification of applicability of 30 per cent standard deduction after deduction of municipal taxes while calculating house property income.
• The government has corrected the anomaly regarding donations linked to non-profit organisations in line with the recommendation of the Select Committee.
• Exemption has been allowed to NPOs for 5 per cent of the ‘total’ donation instead of just 5 per cent of ‘anonymous’ donations, as is the case in the existing Act.

Tax year, digital searches

• The new Bill introduces the concept of “tax year”,which has been defined as the 12-month period beginning April 1.
• The concept was introduced in the first draft in February. The new Bill removes redundant provisions and archaic language and reduces the number of Sections and the number of chapters. Also the number of words has been reduced.
• The government has, however, retained the contentious definition of “virtual digital space” — the powers to call for information by income tax authorities during surveys, searches and seizures,including email servers, social media accounts, online investment, trading and banking accounts, remote or cloud servers and digital application platforms.

Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill

• Separately, the government also brought in the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, which amends the Finance Act, 2025.
• It has exempted income from dividend, interest, long-term capital gains or other incomes from investments made by the ‘Public Investment Fund of the Government of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ and its wholly-owned subsidiaries, which make investment, directly or indirectly, out of the Fund in India of the Income-tax Act.
• Saudi’s Public Investment Fund has over $925 billion assets under management and was notified for I-T exemption in November 2022.
• However, the Fund had faced some restrictive norms related to investments through various subsidiaries.
• With this amendment, the government has granted complete income tax exemption to Saudi’s Fund by specifying its name explicitly in the Act as has been done earlier for the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

Conclusion

The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill also extended income tax benefits under the market-linked national pension system (NPS) to the guaranteed unified pension scheme (UPS), by allowing tax-free withdrawal of lump sum payments or the accumulated UPS corpus, up to 60 per cent, at the time of retirement.

 

EDITORIAL 2: All about dhiro, Goa’s traditional bull fights

Context

During a discussion in the state Assembly last week, legislators across party lines demanded the legalisation of bull fighting in Goa.

A traditional ‘sport’

• The MLAs said that bull fighting, locally referred to as dhirio or dhiri, is an integral part of Goa’s cultural fabric.
• These bull fights have traditionally been held in paddy fields and football grounds of Goa, with village shepherds bringing in their animals.
• Dhiri was a part and parcel of every Church fest and villagers from miles around would gather to witness the popular sport in which two thorough-bred bulls fight each other.
• Sole actors are two carefully selected and trained bulls who have been brought to the fighting pitch by several secret ministrations.
• The bulls charge at each other and the clash of their heads sound like the falling of a gigantic tree struck by lightning.

‘Dhiro’ – A culture

• A bull fight begins with two bulls dashing at each other and locking horns. They head-butt each other and repeatedly charge and retreat, provoked by trainers standing behind.
• The bull that gets pushed out of the arena first or turns and runs away loses the fight, unlike in Spain where the animal has to die for the fight to end.
• It is a straight fight till one bull falls or flees. Often a bull is seriously injured.
• Bulls can even be gored to death at times. Agitatedbulls may also charge at spectators, causing grievous injuries.
• Bull fights have been taking place in Goa for generations, going back to the time of the Portuguese.
• The economy was largely agrarian in those days. So, it was a custom to organise such fights after the harvest season.It was a form of entertainment. People would discuss the fights for days.

A ban ‘only in the books’

• A NGO People for Animals filed a petition in the High Court of Bombay at Goa contending that bull fights were occurring illegally in contravention to the provisions of the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Act, 1960.
• The High Court subsequentlly found bullfights to be illegal and said they cannot be permitted to be organised.
• The Court directed the state to take immediate steps to ban all types of animal fights including bull fights and ‘dhirios’ in the state of Goa.
• Nonetheless, bull fights continue to be organised clandestinely especially in coastal villages of Benaulim, Colva, Fatorda and Betalbatim in South Goa and coastal belt in North Goa.
• Now, they are popular for betting. The ban is only in the books. The Goan diaspora in Europe too places bets on fights.

Way forward

• While bullfighting, or dhirio, is undeniably woven into the cultural and historical fabric of Goan society, reflecting traditions that span generations, it also raises serious ethical and legal questions in the modern context.
• As the state considers calls for legalisation, it must weigh the importance of preserving cultural heritage against the imperative to uphold animal welfare and the rule of law.
• A possible path forward could involve exploring culturally respectful alternatives that celebrate tradition without causing harm, ensuring that heritage and humanity coexist.