Income Tax Act, 2025  ·  Chapter XX — Penalties  ·  Section 478

Section 478
Wilful attempt to evade tax, etc

IT Act 2025 Chapter XX Effective 1 April 2026 Old: 276C
New Provision
Section 478, IT Act 2025
Replaces (IT Act 1961)
276C
Chapter
Chapter XX — Penalties
Effective From
1 April 2026
Statutory Text — Section 478

f a person wilfully attempts in any manner whatsoever to evade any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable, or under-reports his income, under this Act, he shall be punishable,— (a) in a case, where the amount sought to be evaded or tax on under-reported income exceeds twenty-five lakh rupees, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than six months but which may extend to seven years, and with fine; (b) in any other case, with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years, and with fine. (2) If a person wilfully attempts in any manner to evade the payment of any tax, penalty or interest under this Act, he shall be punishable with rigorous imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than three months but which may extend to two years and shall, in the discretion of the court, also be liable to fine. (3) The punishment referred to in this section, shall be without prejudice to any penalty that may be imposable under any other provision of this Act. (4) For the purposes of this section, a wilful attempt to evade any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under this Act, or the payment thereof, shall include a case where any person— (a) has in his possession or control any books of account or other documents (being books of account or other documents relevant to any proceeding under this Act) containing a false entry or statement; or (b) makes or causes to be made any false entry or statement in such books of account or other documents; or (c) wilfully omits or causes to be omitted any relevant entry or statement in such books of account or other documents; or (d) causes any other circumstance to exist which will have the effect of enabling such person to evade any tax, penalty or interest chargeable or imposable under this Act or the payment thereof.

Shahi & Co. — Our Understanding
This section falls under Chapter XX which prescribes penalties for various non-compliances under the Act.
Practical Note: Penalties under the Income Tax Act can be significant — often ranging from 50% to 200% of the tax amount involved. Voluntary disclosure and prompt correction of errors significantly reduces penalty exposure.
Shahi & Co., Chartered Accountants
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Disclaimer: This is a reproduction of Section 478 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.