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CPR Land Rights Initiative invites you to a talk on:
Simplification or Repackaging? A Critical Look at the Income-Tax Bill, 2025
Thursday, 17th April 2025, 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM IST
Speaker:
Mr. Amit Singhania, Founder, Areete Law Offices
Moderator:
Dr. Namita Wahi, Senior Fellow, CPR & Founding Director, Land Rights Initiative
This is the eleventh in a series of talks on “Legal History” as part of the Land Rights Initiative Speaker Series. This series is part of the Land Rights Initiative’s 10 year anniversary celebrations.
This event will be held in hybrid mode at the CPR Conference Room (Dharma Marg, New Delhi) and online over Zoom. Please register below to attend either in person or via Zoom. Refreshments will be served.
About the talk:
India’s taxation regime has evolved over centuries, from ancient scriptures to structured policies under various rulers, shaping the foundation of modern tax laws. The Income Tax Act we know today, traces its roots to 1860, when the British colonial government introduced it to recover losses from the 1857 rebellion, based on a proposal by Sir James Wilson.
However, post-independence India needed a subtle and efficient taxation system that would enable the government to finance its infrastructure projects and eradicate poverty and hunger, which led to the enactment of the Income Tax Act, 1961. While this Act has served as the bedrock of India’s tax regime for over six decades, it has also become excessively complex, riddled with over 4,000 amendments, archaic language, and complicated structures—often leading to ambiguity, compliance burdens, and litigation.
Recognising the need for clarity and simplicity in a dynamic economic landscape, the Finance Minister, Ms. Nirmala Sitharaman, has introduced the Income – tax Bill, 2025 in the Lok Sabha on 13th February 2025, marking a historic step toward modernising the country’s direct tax framework. Slated to take effect from 1 April 2026, the Bill is designed to be concise, transparent, and user-friendly. It eliminates outdated provisions, streamlines language, and incorporates global best practices, all while retaining the core tax policies of the existing law to ensure continuity and certainty. One of its key features is the introduction of a unified ‘Tax Year’—a concept the speaker will elaborate on in the course of the talk. Although public feedback was sought and received, the government is yet to articulate a clear and phased roadmap for implementing comprehensive tax reforms.
The speaker will critically analyse the evolution of India’s taxation regime, comparing the existing Income Tax Act, 1961 with the newly proposed Income-tax Bill, 2025. Drawing on his extensive experience in tax and corporate law, he will reflect on whether the new Bill addresses the long-standing complexities, litigation issues, and compliance burdens associated with the 1961 Act. In particular, the speaker will explore how effectively the new Bill simplifies tax provisions, aligns with global best practices, and impacts the taxpayer experience. He will also assess whether the reforms truly mark a transformative step forward or if they risk replicating old challenges under a new structure, probing whether the promise of clarity, consistency, and modernisation will hold true in practice.
About the speaker:
Mr. Amit Singhania is the Founder of Areete Law Offices. He has more than two decades of experience as a lawyer and chartered accountant. Prior to founding Areete Law Offices, he was an Equity Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co, Delhi offices for more than 16 years and worked with PricewaterhouseCoopers Private Limited for 4 years.
Mr. Singhania regularly advises clients on a variety of matters pertaining to M&A, general corporate, taxation, private clients and white collar crimes and investigation. He recently advised a US based conglomerate, in a multi-billion dollar transaction involving acquisition of an e-commerce aggregator. He has represented the Hira Group in multiple offshore acquisitions in mining and minerals sector, and Kundan group in various matters involving acquisitions of hydro and solar projects in India, as well as acquisition of a listed entity through the insolvency route. Mr. Singhania has also represented an Indian health care major on their exit from the BPO business. He has also represented the IDFC Foundation before tax authorities and the High Court of Delhi in relation to tax disputes. Finally, he has represented the Waree Group on a number of investments in the technology space and the Enam Group in several transactions involving significant minority stake pre-IPO.
Mr. Singhania is a regular speaker at various conferences including those organised by IBA, CII, USISPF, FICCI and Assocham. He has contributed numerous articles in various leading journals and newspapers on contemporaneous legal issues. He has also been recognised in ‘Forbes’ Top 100 Legal Powerlist for Individual Lawyers’ (2023), as a ‘Leading Lawyer by Legal Era’ (2023) and recognised for his Income Tax practice by Chambers Asia Pacific (2025).
Mr. Singhania qualified as a Chartered Accountant in the year 2002 and completed his law degree from Chaudhary Charan Singh University in 2011. He has been a member of the Bar Council of Delhi since 2011.
