The revised Guidelines for Compounding of Offences under the Income-Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “the guidelines”) were issued on October 17, 2024. These guidelines supersede all existing guidelines on the subject and are applicable to all pending as well as new applications from the date of their issuance.

The guidelines have been simplified compared to the previous version, inter alia, by:

Following the issuance of the guidelines, queries were received from stakeholders seeking clarifications on various provisions. Based on these queries, the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has issued Circular No. 04/2025, dated March 17, 2025, in the form of answers to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). These FAQs provide necessary clarifications on:

The FAQs are available on the official website of the Income Tax Department at:
https://incometaxindia.gov.in/news/circular-no-04-2025.pdf.