Chapter XXI of the Income-tax Act, 2025 runs from section 439 to section 472 and covers penalties. Its 34 sections replace 34 sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This guide gives the complete section-by-section mapping between the two Acts.
What Chapter XXI covers
Chapter XXI is the penalty chapter — 34 sections covering under-reporting, documentation failures, audit failures, TDS and TCS defaults, cash transaction breaches and reporting lapses.
Chapter XXI contains 34 sections (sections 439 to 472). Between them they carry forward the substance of 34 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 XXI
- Section 439 is the main penalty for under-reporting and misreporting of income (old section 270A), with section 440 carrying the immunity application under section 270AA.
- Section 446 is failure to get accounts audited (old section 271B) and section 441 is failure to keep books (old section 271A).
- TDS and TCS penalties are sections 448 and 449 (old 271C and 271CA), and the statement failure penalty is section 461 (old 271H).
- Cash transaction penalties renumber together: 271D becomes 450, 271DA becomes 451, 271DB becomes 452 and 271E becomes 453.
- Section 469 carries the waiver power (old 273A), section 470 the reasonable cause defence (old 273B) and section 472 the limitation bar (old 275).
Chapter XXI: complete section mapping (2025 → 1961)
Every section of Chapter XXI 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) |
|---|---|---|
| 439 | Penalty for under-reporting and misreporting of income | 270A |
| 440 | Immunity from imposition of penalty, etc | 270AA |
| 441 | Failure to keep, maintain or retain books of account, documents, etc | 271A |
| 442 | Penalty for failure to keep and maintain information and document, etc., in respect of certain transactions | 271AA |
| 443 | Penalty in respect of certain income | 271AAC |
| 444 | Penalty for false entry, etc., in books of account | 271AAD |
| 445 | Benefits to related persons | 271AAE |
| 446 | Failure to get accounts audited | 271B |
| 447 | Penalty for failure to furnish report under section 172 | 271BA |
| 448 | Penalty for failure to deduct tax at source | 271C |
| 449 | Penalty for failure to collect tax at source | 271CA |
| 450 | Penalty for failure to comply with provisions of section 185 | 271D |
| 451 | Penalty for failure to comply with provisions of section 186 | 271DA |
| 452 | Penalty for failure to comply with provisions of section 187 | 271DB |
| 453 | Penalty for failure to comply with provisions of section 188 | 271E |
| 454 | Penalty for failure to furnish statement of financial transaction or reportable account | 271FA |
| 455 | Penalty for furnishing inaccurate statement of financial transaction or reportable account | 271FAA |
| 456 | Penalty for failure to furnish statement or information or document by an eligible investment fund | 271FAB |
| 457 | Penalty for failure to furnish information or document under section 171 | 271G |
| 458 | Penalty for failure to furnish information or document under section 506 | 271GA |
| 459 | Penalty for failure to furnish report or for furnishing inaccurate report under section 511 | 271GB |
| 460 | Penalty for failure to submit statement under section 505 | 271GC |
| 461 | Penalty for failure to furnish statements, etc | 271H |
| 462 | Penalty for failure to furnish information or furnishing inaccurate Information under section 397 (d) | 271-I |
| 463 | Penalty for furnishing incorrect information in reports or certificates | 271J |
| 464 | Penalty for failure to furnish statements, etc | 271K |
| 465 | Penalty for failure to answer questions, sign statements, Furnish information, returns or statements, allow inspections, etc | 272A |
| 466 | Penalty for failure to comply with the provisions of section 254 | 272AA |
| 467 | Penalty for failure to comply with the provisions of section 262 | 272B |
| 468 | Penalty for failure to comply with the provisions of section 397 | 272BB |
| 469 | Power to reduce or waive penalty, etc., in certain cases | 273A |
| 470 | Penalty not to be imposed in certain cases | 273B |
| 471 | Procedure | 274 |
| 472 | Bar of limitation for imposing penalties | 275 |
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.