Section 139 under the
Income-tax Act, 2025
Return of income
Topic
Return of income — Compliance provisions under the Income-tax Act, 2025 (Act 30 of 2025).
What carried over
The substance of this provision was not changed by the re-write. What moved is the citation.
The single most cross-referenced procedural section in the new Act: 's.263(1)' is the new shorthand for the return due date, used by s.35 (TDS disallowance), s.37(3) (actual-payment deduction), s.58 (presumptive) and s.433 (refunds). Related: PAN (old 139A/139AA) -> s.262; tax return preparers (139B) -> s.264; verification (140) -> s.265; self-assessment (140A) -> s.266; updated return (140B) -> s.267. Refund claims (s.433) require a return under s.263 — the Select Committee's recommendation removing the earlier bill's stricter on-time-filing precondition was accepted.
Source
ICAI concordance row '263 | Return of income. | 139, 139D, 194P'; verified against bare text of s.263(1)(a). Independently corroborated by ClearTax ('139 -> 263') and TaxGuru ('Section 139 (ITR filing) -> Section 263').
CBDT publishes its own correspondence utility on incometaxindia.gov.in and that is the authority. Spot-check anything high-stakes there before you rely on it.
Frequently asked
Which section is the income-tax return under the 2025 Act?
Section 263. It is the most cross-referenced procedural section in the new Act — 'Section 263(1)' is the new shorthand for the return due date, used by Section 35 (TDS disallowance), Section 37(3) (actual-payment deductions), Section 58 (presumptive taxation) and Section 433 (refunds).
Where did PAN, self-assessment and the updated return go?
PAN (old 139A/139AA) is Section 262; tax return preparers (139B) is Section 264; verification (140) is Section 265; self-assessment (140A) is Section 266; the updated return (140B) is Section 267.
Which Act do I file my FY 2025-26 return under?
The Income-tax Act, 1961. Income of FY 2025-26 is Assessment Year 2026-27 and stays on the old law and the old section numbers, even though you file it during 2026. The 2025 Act picks up from income earned on or after 1 April 2026.
This is a navigational aid for the 1961 → 2025 transition, not tax advice. It helps you find the right place in the new Act when you already know the old section. Confirm every citation against the bare Act and against CBDT's own correspondence utility before relying on it in a return, certificate, notice reply or opinion. The source text used here is the Act as passed, so any rate or threshold amended by the Finance Act, 2026 is not reflected; section numbers are unaffected.