Is the Income-tax Act 2025 actually in force?
Yes. It received the President's assent on 21 August 2025 (Act 30 of 2025) and came into force on 1 April 2026, replacing the Income-tax Act, 1961. The forms you actually file are set by the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which CBDT notified on 20 March 2026 (Notification 22/2026). So the new form and section numbers are live law, not a proposal.
The catch most NRIs miss: the new Act applies to income earned from 1 April 2026 onward — the new "Tax Year 2026-27". Your income for FY 2025-26 is still taxed under the old 1961 Act, on the old forms, even though you file that return after April 2026. The return you file in July 2026 is an old-Act return. A savings clause (Section 536) keeps old circulars, certificates and Tax Residency Certificates valid through the changeover.
In one line: old forms for old years, new forms from Tax Year 2026-27.
The forms NRIs use — old to new
Most NRI paperwork was renumbered when the Income-tax Rules, 2026 took over. The form does the same job; only the number changed. These are the ones worth knowing:
| Old form (until FY 2025-26) | New form (from 1 Apr 2026) | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| Form 10F | Form 41 | Self-declaration a non-resident files (with the TRC) to claim a DTAA rate — Rule 75 / Section 159(8) |
| Form 15CA | Form 145 | Remitter's declaration for a foreign remittance out of India |
| Form 15CB | Form 146 | Chartered Accountant's certificate for a taxable foreign remittance (over ₹5 lakh) |
| Form 13 | Form 128 | Application for a certificate for lower or nil TDS — now under Section 395 (was Section 197) |
| Form 49A | Form 93 | PAN application — individuals who are citizens of India (incl. NRIs on an Indian passport) |
| Form 49AA | Form 95 | PAN application — individuals who are NOT citizens of India (OCI / foreign passport); Form 96 is for a foreign entity |
| Form 27Q | Form 144 | TDS return the buyer files on a payment to a non-resident (e.g. buying property from an NRI) |
| Form 16A | Form 131 | TDS certificate (non-salary) — what the buyer/payer issues to the NRI for tax withheld |
| Form 26AS | Form 168 | Your annual tax statement (TDS credited against your PAN) — renumbered, not abolished |
| Form 67 | Form 44 | Foreign Tax Credit statement — now needs a CA certificate where foreign tax is ₹1 lakh or more |
| Form 10EE | Form 40 | Election for Section 158 (was Section 89A) relief on a foreign retirement account |
Two things to flag, because the popular blogs get them wrong. First, the PAN forms split: the old Form 49A (Indian citizens) is now Form 93, and the old Form 49AA (foreign citizens) became Form 95 for an individual and Form 96 for an entity — so an OCI applying for a PAN uses Form 95, not 96. Second, several online mapping tables list 15CA as "131" and 27Q as "140"; both are wrong. The correct successors are Form 145 and Form 144, confirmed on the income-tax department's own form pages.
The sections NRIs run into — old to new
The Act renumbered most sections, but not all. Residence (Section 6) and the "income deemed to arise in India" rule (Section 9) kept their numbers, which is why you will still see them quoted the same way.
| Old section (1961 Act) | New section (2025 Act) | What it covers |
|---|---|---|
| Section 6 | Section 6 | Residential status (the day-count test) — number unchanged |
| Section 9 | Section 9 | Income deemed to accrue or arise in India — number unchanged |
| Section 90 / 90A | Section 159 | DTAA / treaty relief — now expressly needs a TRC + Form 41 to claim (Section 159(8)) |
| Section 195 | Section 393(2) | TDS on payments to a non-resident — substance and rates unchanged |
| Section 197 | Section 395 | Certificate for lower / nil TDS (Form 128). ⚠ The NEW Section 197 is now long-term capital gains |
| Section 54 / 54EC / 54F | Section 82 / 85 / 86 | Capital-gains exemptions on a property sale (reinvest in a house / 54EC bonds) |
| Section 111A / 112 / 112A | Section 196 / 197 / 198 | Capital-gains tax rates (STCG, LTCG non-equity, LTCG equity) |
| Section 89A | Section 158 | Relief on a foreign retirement account (Form 10EE → Form 40) |
Watch one trap. The old Section 197 was the lower-TDS certificate. Under the new Act that certificate moved to Section 395 (and the application is now Form 128, was Form 13) — while the number 197 has been reused for long-term capital gains. So "Section 197" means two completely different things depending on which Act someone is citing. When in doubt, ask which Act they mean.
What actually changed (not just the numbers)
A renumbering on its own is just admin. A few changes have teeth for NRIs:
DTAA claims are stricter. To claim a treaty rate you now expressly need a valid Tax Residency Certificate plus Form 41 (the old Form 10F), filed under Section 159(8). No TRC, no treaty rate — your bank withholds the full domestic rate until it is on file.
Foreign Tax Credit asks for a CA sign-off at scale. The FTC statement is now Form 44 (was Form 67), and where the foreign tax you are claiming is large (reported as ₹1 lakh or more), a Chartered Accountant's certificate goes with it.
The remittance gate is unchanged in substance. Sending money out of India still runs on the remitter declaration (now Form 145) and a CA certificate (now Form 146) for a taxable remittance over ₹5 lakh — same gate, new numbers.
Everything else for a typical NRI — the residence day-count, how Indian-source income is taxed, the DTAA rates themselves — carries over unchanged. The Act tidied the rule book; it did not rewrite your tax position.
What this means for you right now
If you are dealing with FY 2025-26 (the return you file in 2026): use the old forms — Form 10F, Form 15CA / 15CB, the ITR as before. Nothing to relearn for this filing.
If it is income from 1 April 2026 onward: it is the new forms. Filing Form 41 for your DTAA rate, selling property and applying for a lower-TDS certificate on Form 128, or remitting funds on Form 145 / 146 — those are the numbers your bank and CA will ask for.
If you are reading an older article or a bank email that still says "Form 10F" or "Section 197", it is not necessarily wrong — check which year and which Act it is talking about before you act on it.