FM Nirmala Sitharaman set to review tax reforms, collections next week

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman is set to hold a series of meetings starting next week with senior officials of direct taxes and indirect taxes to reform tax administration and review collection trends and progress on key tax reforms.

The reform measures likely to be discussed are widening the tax net, reducing litigations and preparing the tax administration to face global headwinds, ET has learnt.

The GST issues will include improving the GST registration process, reducing the compliance burden on honest taxpayers and discussing rate rationalisation and compensation cess.


On the direct tax side, the income tax draft bill will be reviewed. The meetings will also delve into analysing patterns in tax evasion, the process of refund and pain points in international taxation and safe harbour rules while reducing tax litigation.

"The second half of the month, FM will engage with all the important offices under the revenue. Both boards are told to prepare a detailed presentation for the minister," a senior official told ET.

The meeting will start with the GST officials, who will present the GST slab-wise collection trend and the progress with GST classifications. Subsequently, she will discuss the trends of tax evasion and the recovery process with the DGGI officials.

The GST collections net of refunds stood at ₹3.83 lakh crore for the first two months of this fiscal year, up 14% against the same period last year. The minister will also review the progress of the Income Tax Bill 2025, which was introduced during the budget session of parliament this year and will be taken up for discussion during the monsoon session. She will also discuss refund processes, international taxation and safe harbour rules, the segregation of income from salary and non-salary components and progress on the PAN 2.0, among others.

The minister will later separately meet with customs department officials to review their preparedness in view of ongoing foreign trade agreements, progress of faceless assessments and further steps taken to reduce classification-related disputes.