Section 43B(h) under the
Income-tax Act, 2025
MSME 45-day payment rule — disallowance of dues to micro/small enterprises
Topic
MSME 45-day payment rule — disallowance of dues to micro/small enterprises — Business 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 rule survives intact, including its sting. s.37(3) allows the usual 'pay before the return due date and still deduct' relief for every sum in s.37(2) EXCEPT clause (g) — exactly mirroring the first proviso to 1961 s.43B, which excluded 43B(h). So MSME dues must be actually paid within the s.15 MSMED Act time limit (45 days with a written agreement, 15 days without) to be deductible in that tax year. Founders and CFOs searching '43B(h)' should now cite s.37(2)(g).
Source
Verified against bare text of s.37(2)(g) ('amount payable by the assessee to a micro or small enterprise beyond the time limit specified in section 15 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006') and s.37(3) in ICAI publication.
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
What is 43B(h) called under the Income-tax Act, 2025?
Section 37(2)(g). The MSME payment rule survives intact, including the sting: Section 37(3) gives the usual 'pay before the return due date and still deduct' relief for every sum in Section 37(2) except clause (g).
Do the 45-day and 15-day limits change?
No. MSME dues must still be actually paid within the time limit specified in Section 15 of the MSMED Act, 2006 — 45 days with a written agreement, 15 days without — to be deductible in that tax year.
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.