Chapter XXII of the Income-tax Act, 2025 runs from section 473 to section 498 and covers offences and prosecution. Its 26 sections replace 26 sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This guide gives the complete section-by-section mapping between the two Acts.
What Chapter XXII covers
Chapter XXII carries the prosecution provisions — wilful evasion, failure to deposit TDS, false statements, and the machinery of Special Courts. It is short but consequential, and it now cross-refers to the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.
Chapter XXII contains 26 sections (sections 473 to 498). Between them they carry forward the substance of 26 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 XXII
- Section 478 is wilful attempt to evade tax (old section 276C) and section 479 is failure to furnish returns (old section 276CC).
- Section 476 is failure to pay TDS to the credit of the Central Government (old section 276B) and section 477 covers TCS (old section 276BB).
- Section 490 carries the presumption of culpable mental state (old section 278E), which is why intent is presumed and must be rebutted by the accused.
- Section 498 applies the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to Special Court proceedings, replacing the reference to the Code of Criminal Procedure in section 280D.
- Section 491 carries section 279 — prosecution only at the instance of the specified senior authority.
Chapter XXII: complete section mapping (2025 → 1961)
Every section of Chapter XXII 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) |
|---|---|---|
| 473 | Contravention of order made under section 247 | 275A |
| 474 | Failure to comply with section 247(1)(ii) | 275B |
| 475 | Removal, concealment, transfer or delivery of property to prevent tax recovery | 276 |
| 476 | Failure to pay tax to credit of Central Government under | 276B |
| 477 | Failure to pay tax collected at source | 276BB |
| 478 | Wilful attempt to evade tax, etc | 276C |
| 479 | Failure to furnish returns of income | 276CC |
| 480 | Failure to furnish return of income in search cases | 276CCC |
| 481 | Failure to produce accounts and documents | 276D |
| 482 | False statement in verification, etc | 277 |
| 483 | Falsification of books of account or document, etc | 277A |
| 484 | Abetment of false return, etc | 278 |
| 485 | Punishment for second and subsequent offences | 278A |
| 486 | Punishment not to be imposed in certain cases | 278AA |
| 487 | Offences by companies | 278B |
| 488 | Offences by Hindu undivided family | 278C |
| 489 | Presumption as to assets, books of account, etc., in certain cases | 278D |
| 490 | Presumption as to culpable mental state | 278E |
| 491 | Prosecution to be at instance of Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner | 279 |
| 492 | Certain offences to be non-cognizable | 279A |
| 493 | Proof of entries in records or documents | 279B |
| 494 | Disclosure of particulars by public servants | 280 |
| 495 | Special Courts | 280A |
| 496 | Offences triable by Special Court | 280B |
| 497 | Trial of offences as summons case | 280C |
| 498 | Application of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to proceedings before Special Court | 280D |
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.