{"act":{"id":"finance-act-2026","short_title":"The Finance Act, 2026","long_title":"An Act to give effect to the financial proposals of the Central Government for the financial year 2026-2027.","act_number":"4","act_year":2026,"enact_date":null,"enforcement_date":null,"ministry":"Ministry of Finance","department":"Department of Revenue","jurisdiction":"CENTRAL","unit":"section","section_count":167,"in_force":true,"spent":false,"spent_note":null,"duplicate_of":null,"text_source":"published","scan_url":null,"url":"https://indiacode.ecourtsindia.com/finance-act-2026/"},"unit":"section","section":{"number":"29","heading":"Amendment of section 278","text":"Amendment of section 278. 29. In section 278 of the Income-tax Act, for clauses (i) and (ii), the following clauses shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of March, 2026, namely:— \"(i) | with simple imprisonment for a term up to two years, or with fine, or with both, where the amount of tax, penalty or interest which would have been evaded, if the declaration, account or statement had been accepted as true, or which is wilfully attempted to be evaded, exceeds fifty lakh rupees; or (ii) | with simple imprisonment for a term up to six months, or with fine, or with both, where the amount of tax, penalty or interest which would have been evaded, if the declaration, account or statement had been accepted as true, or which is wilfully attempted to be evaded, exceeds ten lakh rupees but does not exceed fifty lakh rupees; or (iii) | with fine, in any other case.\"","html":"<p><b>Amendment of section 278.</b></p><p><b>29.</b> In section 278 of the Income-tax Act, for clauses (<i>i</i>) and (<i>ii</i>), the following clauses shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of March, 2026, namely:—</p><div class=\"tablewrap\"><table class=\"dtable\"><tr><td>\"(<i>i</i>)</td><td></td><td>with simple imprisonment for a term up to two years, or with fine, or with both, where the amount of tax, penalty or interest which would have been evaded, if the declaration, account or statement had been accepted as true, or which is wilfully attempted to be evaded, exceeds fifty lakh rupees; or</td></tr><tr><td>(<i>ii</i>)</td><td></td><td>with simple imprisonment for a term up to six months, or with fine, or with both, where the amount of tax, penalty or interest which would have been evaded, if the declaration, account or statement had been accepted as true, or which is wilfully attempted to be evaded, exceeds ten lakh rupees but does not exceed fifty lakh rupees; or</td></tr><tr><td>(<i>iii</i>)</td><td></td><td>with fine, in any other case.\"</td></tr></table></div>","words":166,"text_source":"published"},"classification":[],"instruments":[],"judgments":[],"corresponds_to":[],"url":"https://indiacode.ecourtsindia.com/finance-act-2026/section/29/","note":null,"source_note":"Harvested from the Income Tax Department's own portal at incometaxindia.gov.in, which publishes the Finance Acts section by section. India Code carries none of them: its Central community holds the Acts that stand as general law, and a Finance Act is an amending and rate-fixing instrument.","judgments_note":"Judgment holdings are the ratio decidendi as extracted from the order by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered. Reported judgments only.","licence":"Published with commentary and other original matter under s.52(1)(q)(ii), Copyright Act 1957."}