Rajya Sabha to take up Taxation, Bankers’ Books bills on Monday
The Rajya Sabha is scheduled to take up the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 and the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 for consideration and passage
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill proposes changes to the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, the Income-tax Act, 2025, and the Finance Act, 2026, aimed at boosting investment, supporting manufacturing, and replacing the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026
The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill seeks to modernise the century-old legal framework governing the admissibility of bank records as evidence, aligning it with digital banking practices
Both bills had already been passed by the Lok Sabha before being taken up in the Rajya Sabha
Ordinary Bill vs Money Bill — Legislative Route (Article 107 vs Article 110)
Not every bill dealing with taxation is automatically a "Money Bill." The route a bill takes through Parliament, and the Rajya Sabha's powers over it, depend on whether it falls strictly within the Article 110 definition of a Money Bill or is treated as an ordinary/financial bill under Articles 107 and 117.
Key Details
- Article 110 restricts "Money Bill" status to bills dealing exclusively with matters like imposition/regulation of taxes, borrowing by government, or Consolidated Fund/Contingency Fund operations, and requires Speaker certification
- A Money Bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha; the Rajya Sabha may only recommend changes and must return it within 14 days, after which the Lok Sabha may accept or reject the recommendations
- An ordinary bill or a Financial Bill under Article 117 (Category II, which does not solely deal with Article 110 matters) can be introduced in either House (subject to Article 117's own restrictions) and the Rajya Sabha has full power to amend or reject it, requiring resolution of disagreement between the two Houses
- A bill amending multiple laws across tax and payment-regulation domains (like the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill) is typically routed as an ordinary/financial bill requiring Rajya Sabha's substantive concurrence, not merely as a certified Money Bill
Because this bill requires the Rajya Sabha to substantively consider and pass it (not merely return recommendations within 14 days), its passage through the Upper House is a necessary and non-symbolic legislative step.
Income-tax Act, 2025 — Replacing the Income-tax Act, 1961
The Income-tax Act, 2025 is the new principal direct tax legislation for India, enacted to simplify and modernise the six-decade-old Income-tax Act, 1961, and the current amendment bill operates on top of this new Act.
Key Details
- Passed by Lok Sabha on August 11, 2025 and Rajya Sabha on August 12, 2025; received Presidential assent on August 21, 2025
- Came into force from April 1, 2026, repealing the Income-tax Act, 1961, with transitional provisions for pending proceedings
- Reduces the statute from 819 sections (1961 Act) to 536 sections, replaces the "Assessment Year/Previous Year" dual-year system with a single "Tax Year," while broadly retaining existing tax rates, slabs, and deduction limits
- The current Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amends this new 2025 Act (along with the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, and Finance Act, 2026) and replaces an interim Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026
This bill is essentially the parliamentary ratification of ordinance-route changes made to the newly enacted Income-tax Act, 2025, illustrating how a just-implemented tax code can require rapid follow-up amendment.
Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 — Modernisation
The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 is one of India's oldest surviving commercial statutes, governing how bank records are treated as evidence in legal proceedings; the 2026 Bill proposes to replace this 19th-century framework.
Key Details
- Enacted 1891, modelled on the English Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1879; provides that a certified copy of an entry in a banker's book is prima facie evidence of that entry without needing the original ledger or a bank officer's testimony in court
- Also shields bank officers from being compelled to produce books or testify in proceedings to which the bank is not a party, except by special court order
- Previously amended via the Information Technology Act, 2000 to recognise electronic/computerised bank records, but the core 1891 structure remained
- The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 seeks to replace this framework entirely with provisions explicitly designed around digital and electronic banking records rather than treating them as an amendment to a paper-era statute
The bill under consideration is a full replacement (not a mere amendment) of the 1891 Act, reflecting a broader legislative trend of re-codifying colonial-era commercial and evidentiary statutes for the digital era — similar to the replacement of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023.
- Bankers' Books Evidence Act being replaced: enacted 1891, based on the English Act of 1879
- Income-tax Act, 2025: assented August 21, 2025; in force from April 1, 2026; replaced the Income-tax Act, 1961 (819 sections reduced to 536)
- Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amends: Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007; Income-tax Act, 2025; Finance Act, 2026
- Money Bill (Article 110): Rajya Sabha must return within 14 days, recommendation-only power
- Financial/ordinary Bill (Article 117/107): Rajya Sabha has full amend/reject power
- Both bills had already cleared the Lok Sabha before being listed in the Rajya Sabha