LS Passes Two Tax Bills Amid Din Without Debate; Sports Bill Too Gets Lower House Nod

PTI, NEW DELHI, AUG 11, 2025 :  Amid continued Opposition protests, the Lok Sabha on Monday passed two important legislations pertaining to taxation — the Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill and the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill.

The Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025 seeks to consolidate and amend the law relating to the Income Tax Act of 1961. The Bill will replace the Income Tax Act, 1961, and incorporates almost all of the recommendations of the Select Committee headed by senior BJP member Baijayant Panda.

The other legislation, the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, will amend the Income Tax Act, 1961, as well as the Finance Act, 2025. It aims to provide tax exemptions to subscribers of the Unified Pension Scheme. These Bills were introduced by Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the lower house earlier in the day.

"Almost all of the recommendations of the Select Committee have been accepted by the government. In addition, suggestions have been received from stakeholders about changes that would convey the proposed legal meaning more accurately," said the statement of objects and reasons for the Income-Tax (No. 2) Bill, 2025. The Select Committee had suggested a host of changes in the Income-Tax Bill, 2025, which was introduced in the Lok Sabha on February 13.

The Taxation Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2025, also passed by voice vote in the Lok Sabha, incorporated changes in the scheme of block assessment with regard to Income Tax search cases and would provide certain direct tax benefits to public investment funds of Saudi Arabia. It seeks to amend the Income Tax Act, 1961, and the Finance Act, 2025. These Bills were passed without any debate amid vociferous protests by members of the Opposition over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar.

After the passage of these Bills by voice vote, the Lok Sabha was adjourned for the day.

The long-awaited National Sports Governance Bill was also passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, with Union Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya describing it as the "single biggest reform in Indian sports since independence," amid Opposition protests over the revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The National Anti-Doping (Amendment) Bill was also passed when the Lok Sabha reassembled at 2 p.m. after an early adjournment due to Opposition protests.