The interest and late fee provisions everyone knows as the “234 series” renumber as a clean block in the Income-tax Act, 2025: sections 423 to 430.
Quick answer: the mapping
| Income-tax Act, 1961 | Subject | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 234A | Interest for late filing of return | 423 |
| 234B | Interest for default in payment of advance tax | 424 |
| 234C | Interest for deferment of advance tax | 425 |
| 234D | Interest on excess refund | 426 |
| 234E | Fee for late TDS/TCS statement | 427 |
| 234F | Fee for late filing of return | 428 |
| 234G | Fee for default in statement or certificate | 429 |
| 234H | Fee for default in Aadhaar intimation | 430 |
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 the 1961 provision did
Sections 234A, 234B and 234C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 charged interest for late filing, shortfall in advance tax and deferment of advance tax instalments. Sections 234E to 234H charged fees for late statements, late returns, certificate defaults and Aadhaar intimation defaults.
Where it sits in the Income-tax Act, 2025
The Income-tax Act, 2025 keeps them in the same order inside Chapter XIX: section 423 for interest on late filing, section 424 for advance tax default, section 425 for deferment of advance tax, section 426 for interest on excess refund, and sections 427 to 430 for the fees.
What actually changed
- The order is preserved, so 234A/B/C/D map to 423/424/425/426 and 234E/F/G/H map to 427/428/429/430. This is one of the easiest mappings to remember.
- Advance tax itself moves too. Liability is section 403 (old 207), conditions section 404 (old 208), computation section 405 (old 209) and instalments and due dates section 408 (old 211).
- They sit with TDS and recovery. All of this is Chapter XIX, which also carries the consolidated TDS section 393.
What to do about it
- Update interest computation sheets and tax software labels for tax year 2026-27 onwards.
- Late filing fee references in client communications should move from 234F to 428.
- Advance tax reminder templates should cite section 408 for instalments and due dates.
The sections around it in the new Act
Renumbering is easier to absorb in context. The table below lists the neighbouring provisions of the Income-tax Act, 2025 with the 1961 sections each of them carries forward, so you can see where this provision sits and what moved with it.
| New section (2025) | Provision | Corresponding 1961 section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 423 | Interest for defaults in furnishing return of income | 234A |
| 424 | Interest for defaults in payment of advance tax | 234B |
| 425 | Interest for deferment of advance tax | 234C |
| 426 | Interest on excess refund | 234D |
| 427 | Fee for default in furnishing statements | 234E |
| 428 | Fee for default in furnishing return of income | 234F |
| 429 | Fee for default relating to statement or certificate | 234G |
| 430 | Fee for default relating to intimation of Aadhaar number | 234H |
How to read a section mapping
- A corresponding section is not always an identical section. Where several 1961 sections map to one new section, conditions that used to sit apart are now read together.
- Where one 1961 section maps to several new sections, the old provision was split, and each new section carries only part of what you used to cite.
- Some new sections have no 1961 equivalent at all — the registered non-profit code in sections 332 to 355 is the largest example.
- Always cite by year. The Act that applies is decided by the tax year in question, not by the date you are writing on.
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.