Income Tax Act, 2025  ·  Chapter XVIII — Collection and Recovery of Tax  ·  Section 425

Section 425
Interest for deferment of advance tax

IT Act 2025 Chapter XVIII Effective 1 April 2026 Old: 568 234C
New Provision
Section 425, IT Act 2025
Replaces (IT Act 1961)
568 234C
Chapter
Chapter XVIII — Collection and Recovery of Tax
Effective From
1 April 2026
Statutory Text — Section 425

here in any tax year, an assessee, liable to pay advance tax under section 404, other than the assessee mentioned in sub-section (3), has failed to pay such tax, or the advance tax paid by the assessee on its current income on or before the date specified in column B of the Table below, is less than advance tax due on returned income, as specified in column C, then the assessee shall be liable to pay interest on the amount of Shortfall of advance tax as specified in column D, at the rate of interest

specified in column E:— Table Sl. No. Due date of Advance tax Amount of Interest Instalment due on Shortfall of payable returned advance tax being on ssincome advance tax due as Shortfall per column C, as as reduced by advance specified tax already paid on in or before the date column specified in column D B A B C D E 1. 15th day 15% of the tax Shortfall till 15th day 3% of June. due on returned of June. income. 2. 15th day of 45% of the tax Shortfall till 15th day 3% September. due on returned of September. income. 3. 15th day of 75% of the tax Shortfall till 15th day 3% December. due on returned of December. income. 4. 15th day of 100% of the tax Shortfall till 15th day 1% March. due on returned of March. income. (2) The assessee shall not be liable to pay any interest under sub-section (1), if the advance tax paid by the assessee on the current income,–– (a) on or before the 15th day of June is 12% or more of the tax due on the returned income; (b) on or before the 15th day of September is 36% or more of the tax due on the returned income. (3) An assessee who declares profits and gains as per section 58(2) (Table: Sl. No. 1 or 3) or, who is liable to pay advance tax under section 404, has failed to pay such tax, or the advance tax paid by the assessee on its current income on or before the 15th day of March is less than the tax due on returned income, shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of 1% on the amount of shortfall from the tax due on returned income.

(4) No interest shall be payable under sub-section (1) or (3) in respect of shortfall in the payment of tax due on returned income, where,–– (a) the shortfall is on account of underestimation of, or failure to estimate the following income:–– (i) capital gains; (ii) income as per section 2(49)(n); (iii) income under the head profits and gains of business or profession accruing or arising for the first time; (iv) dividend income; and (b) the assessee has paid in full, the tax payable on the said income had such income been part of total income, in any of the remaining instalments of advance tax, if any, or by the 31st day of March of the tax year. (5) For the purposes of this section “tax due on the returned income” means the tax chargeable on the total income declared in the return of income furnished by the assessee for the tax year in which the advance tax is paid or payable, as reduced by the amount of— (a) any tax deducted or collected at source as per the provisions of Chapter XIX-B on any income which is subject to such deduction or collection and which is taken into account in computing such total income; (b) any relief of tax allowed under section 157; (c) any relief of tax allowed under section 159(1) on account of tax paid in a country outside India; (d) any relief of tax allowed under section 159(2) on account of tax paid in a specified territory outside India referred to in that section; (e) any deduction, from the Indian income-tax payable, allowed under section 160, on account of tax paid in a country outside India; and (f) any tax credit allowed to be set off as per sections 206(1)(m) to (p) and 206(2)(e) to (h). (6) For the purposes of this sub-section, the expression “dividend” shall have the meaning assigned to it in section 2(40), but shall not include sub-clause (e) thereof.

Shahi & Co. — Our Understanding
This section falls under Chapter XVIII which deals with collection and recovery of tax — including TDS, advance tax, self-assessment tax, and recovery proceedings.
Practical Note: TDS compliance is one of the most heavily scrutinised areas in income tax. Failure to deduct, short deduction, or late deposit of TDS attracts interest, penalty, and disallowance of the related expenditure.
Shahi & Co., Chartered Accountants
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Disclaimer: This is a reproduction of Section 425 of the Income Tax Act, 2025 (No. 30 of 2025) as published in the Official Gazette of India (CG-DL-E-22082025-265620) for informational and reference purposes only. Shahi & Co., Chartered Accountants makes no warranty as to completeness or accuracy. For the official authenticated text refer to egazette.gov.in or incometaxindia.gov.in. This does not constitute legal or tax advice.