Insights

As per Rule 5(4A) of the IEPF Rules, 2016, companies that have transferred unclaimed amounts—such as unpaid dividends, application money, matured deposits/debentures, etc.—to the Investor Education and Protection Fund (IEPF) under Section 205C of the Companies Act, 1956 (now replaced by Section 125 of the Companies Act, 2013), but have not filed the required statement or filed it in a non-Excel format, are now mandatorily required to file Form IEPF-1A along with the prescribed Excel template. The final deadline for compliance is 30th August 2025. Non-compliance may lead to regulatory action. The IEPF Authority will share details of non-compliant filings and applicable templates with the Nodal Officers of the respective companies via registered email. All stakeholders are advised to take note and ensure timely filing through the MCA V3 portal.

ICAI President Charanjot Singh Nanda on Wednesday said capping the number of tax audits that can be done by an individual chartered accountant to 60 annually will help strengthen the regulatory framework and enhance focus on auditing work.The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI), which has more than 400,000 members, has notified the norms for capping the number of individual tax audits and these will come into effect from April 1 next year.

The limit of 60 will be the aggregate limit in respect of all tax audits signed by a member (chartered accountant), both in his individual capacity and as a partner of a firm(s). Further, a partner of a firm cannot sign any tax audit report on behalf of any other partner.

The Parliamentary Select Committee appointed to review the new Income Tax Bill 2025 proposed by the government has retained the provisions in the new Bill empowering tax officials to access, forcibly if necessary, the social media and private emails of people they are conducting search and seizure operations on.

‍The Income Tax Bill 2025 was introduced in the Lok Sabha in February 2025. The aim behind the Bill, as per the government, is to simplify and rationalise the existing Income Tax Act 1961 and the numerous amendments that have been made to it over the decades since it was introduced. The government on July 21, 2025 tabled the 4,575 page report in the Lok Sabha. It was then sent to a Select Committee, chaired by Baijayant Panda, for a review.