This is the single biggest structural change in the Income-tax Act, 2025. The entire TDS code — the whole 194 series, section 195 and the 196 series, about forty sections in all — is consolidated into one section: section 393, with the payments, thresholds and rates set out in tables inside the section.
Quick answer: the mapping
| Income-tax Act, 1961 | Subject | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 194C | Payments to contractors | 393 |
| 194J | Professional and technical fees | 393 |
| 194-I | Rent | 393 |
| 194-IA | Purchase of immovable property | 393 |
| 194H | Commission and brokerage | 393 |
| 194A | Interest other than on securities | 393 |
| 195 | Payments to non-residents | 393 |
| 192 | Salary | 392 |
| 192A | Accumulated PF balance | 392 |
| 206C | Tax collected at source | 394 |
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
The Income-tax Act, 1961 created a separate section for each kind of payment: 194C for contractors, 194J for professional fees, 194-I for rent, 194H for commission, 194A for interest, 194Q for purchase of goods, 194R for benefits and perquisites, 194S for virtual digital assets, 195 for payments to non-residents, and so on. Deductors had to know which section applied before they could find the rate.
Where it sits in the Income-tax Act, 2025
Section 393 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 is headed simply “Tax to be deducted at source”. It carries forward sections 193, 194, 194A, 194B, 194BA, 194BB, 194C, 194D, 194DA, 194E, 194EE, 194G, 194H, 194-I, 194-IA, 194-IB, 194-IC, 194J, 194K, 194LA, 194LB, 194LBA, 194LBB, 194LBC, 194LC, 194M, 194N, 194-O, 194P, 194Q, 194R, 194S, 194T, 195, 195A, 196, 196A, 196B, 196C, 196D and 197A. Instead of forty section numbers, you look up a row in a table.
What actually changed
- Salary TDS stays separate. Section 392 carries sections 192 and 192A, so salary deduction and the accumulated provident fund balance are not inside section 393.
- TCS is its own section. Section 394 carries section 206C.
- Certificates are section 395 — lower and nil deduction certificates that were section 197, together with sections 195, 203 and 206C.
- Compliance and reporting is section 397, absorbing TAN (203A), higher rates for non-filers and non-PAN cases (206AA, 206CC), statements (200, 206A) and the challan-cum-statement obligations under 194-IA, 194-IB, 194M and 194S.
- Failure to deduct or pay is section 398 (old sections 201 and 206C), and processing is section 399 (old 200A and 206CB).
- The relaxation power is section 400, covering what sections 194A, 194BA, 194N, 194-O, 194Q, 194R, 194S, 195, 197, 197A and 206C allowed.
What to do about it
- Rewrite TDS working papers, engagement letters and software section masters. A field that stores “194J” now needs to store a section 393 table reference instead.
- Train accounts payable teams on the table lookup — the practical skill changes from “which section” to “which row”.
- Map penalties to the new numbers: failure to deduct is section 448, failure to collect is section 449, and failure to furnish statements is section 461.
- Prosecution for not depositing TDS is now section 476 (old section 276B).
- For all TDS relating to periods up to 31 March 2026, keep using the 1961 section numbers.
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) |
|---|---|---|
| 390 | Deduction or collection at source and advance payment | 190, 199, 206C |
| 391 | Direct payment | 191 |
| 392 | Salary and accumulated balance due to an employee | 192, 192A |
| 393 | Tax to be deducted at source | 193, 194, 194A, 194B, 194BA, 194BB, 194C, 194D, 194DA, 194E, 194EE, 194G, 194H, 194-I, 194-IA, 194-IB, 194-IC, 194J, 194K, 194LA, 194LB, 194LBA, 194LBB, 194LBC, 194LC, 194M, 194N, 194-O, 194P, 194Q, 194R, 194S, 194T, 195, 195A, 196, 196A, 196B, 196C, 196D, 197A |
| 394 | Collection of tax at source | 206C |
| 395 | Certificates | 197, 195, 203, 206C |
| 396 | Tax deducted is income received | 198 |
| 397 | Compliance and reporting | 203A, 206AA, 206CC, 200, 206A, 206C, 194-IA, 194-IB, 194M, 194S, 195 |
| 398 | Consequences of failure to deduct or pay or, collect or pay | 201, 206C |
| 399 | Processing | 200A, 206CB |
| 400 | Power of Central Government to relax provisions of this Chapter | 194A, 194BA, 194N, 194-O, 194Q, 194R, 194S, 195, 197, 197A, 206C |
| 401 | Bar against direct demand on assessee | 205 |
| 402 | Interpretation | 192, 206CB |
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.