Chapter II of the Income-tax Act, 2025 runs from section 4 to section 10 and covers basis of charge. Its 7 sections replace 9 sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This guide gives the complete section-by-section mapping between the two Acts.
What Chapter II covers
Chapter II answers the two questions every computation starts with: is this person taxable in India, and which of their income is within the Indian net. It carries the charging section, the scope of total income, residence, and the deeming rules for income that arises in India.
Chapter II contains 7 sections (sections 4 to 10). Between them they carry forward the substance of 9 sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 received Presidential assent on 21 August 2025 and takes effect from 1 April 2026. The Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern every tax year up to 31 March 2026, and all assessments, appeals, penalties and prosecutions relating to those years are completed under the old Act by virtue of the repeal and savings provision in section 536. The mapping on this page is drawn from the section-wise concordance published with the Act, including the corrigenda notified in the Gazette on 3 September 2025.
What changed in Chapter II
- Section 4 is the charging section, mapping to the old section 4. The levy still depends on a Central Act fixing the rates, so the Finance Act continues to matter every year.
- Sections 7 and 8 of the 1961 Act are merged into one section 7, which now covers both income deemed to be received and dividend deemed to be income.
- Section 9 absorbs old sections 9 and 9A and is read with Schedule I, which carries the conditions under which an eligible investment fund's activity does not create a business connection in India.
- Section 8 carries forward old section 9B — income on receipt of a capital asset or stock in trade by a specified person from a specified entity.
Chapter II: complete section mapping (2025 → 1961)
Every section of Chapter II is listed below with the section or sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961 that it corresponds to. Where a section is marked as read with a Schedule, the operative detail sits in that Schedule rather than in the section itself.
| New section (2025) | Provision | Corresponding 1961 section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | Charge of income-tax | 4 |
| 5 | Scope of total income | 5 |
| 6 | Residence in India | 6 |
| 7 | Income deemed to be received and dividend deemed to be income in a tax year | 7, 8 |
| 8 | Income on receipt of capital asset or stock in trade by specified person from specified entity | 9B |
| 9 | Income deemed to accrue or arise in India (Read with Schedule I) | 9, 9A |
| 10 | Apportionment of income between spouses governed by Portuguese Civil Code | 5A |
How to use this mapping
- Working on a year up to 2025-26? Use the 1961 section in the right-hand column. The old Act governs those years under section 536.
- Working on tax year 2026-27 onwards? Use the new section number in the left-hand column, and read the section text rather than assuming the old provision was copied verbatim.
- Drafting a reply or an appeal? Cite the section that applies to the year in dispute, not the section in force when you are writing.
- Updating templates and software? Sections that merged — shown where one new section maps to several old ones — need the most attention, because a single new provision now carries what were separate conditions.
This page is a structural mapping guide, not tax advice. A corresponding section is not always an identical section — several provisions were merged, split or re-worded when they were carried over. Always read the actual text of the new section before relying on it, and check for later amendments, rules and CBDT notifications.