I-T Act review attempt to make it simpler for taxpayers: CBDT chairman

The budget announcement about a comprehensive review of the Income Tax Act, 1961, is an attempt to make the "bulky" law "simpler" to understand and comfortable to use for taxpayers along with aligning new technology processes with it, CBDT Chairman Ravi Agrawal has said.

The Act that started its journey in 1922 contains 298 sections, 23 chapters and other provisions in its current form of 1961.

Speaking to PTI during a post-budget interview on Wednesday, Agrawal said the Act has seen "redundancies" over a period of time making it "thick and bulky."

"The taxpayers also feel that the Act is not so simple, as it ought to be...it is cumbersome...so the attempt is if we can make this Act simpler, simpler to comprehend, simpler in terms of language, simpler in terms of presentation, then that hitch of the taxpayer to actually not see the Act and take the help of a tax practitioner or someone (maybe eased)..."

"We are working towards how can we make it (Income Tax Act) simple so that the