Now Reading: CBDT makes Form 173A mandatory for G-Sec tax exemption claims
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CBDT makes Form 173A mandatory for G-Sec tax exemption claims
The Story in Brief
The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has made Form 173A mandatory for taxpayers claiming income-tax exemptions on interest and capital gains from government securities under Schedule IV, Table entries 13D and 13E of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The form, introduced via the Income-tax (Seventh Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified on 19 October, requires details including the claimant's PAN, TIN, SEBI registration number, ISIN, type and tenor of securities, holdings at the start and end of the tax year, purchases, sales, interest and capital gains. For the Bank for International Settlements, TIN and SEBI registration are optional.
The amendment inserts Rule 281A into the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Part A of the form asks for the claimant's name, country of residence, address, PAN, TIN in the country of residence, SEBI registration number as an FPI or FII, tax year, email and contact number. Part B requires details of each government security, including treasury bills, fixed-rate bonds, floating-rate bonds and State Development Loans. The rules took effect from 19 October upon publication in the Official Gazette.
Update, 21 October 2026: Times Now reports the same Form 173A notification, adding no new fact. It confirms that the amended rules took effect on 19 October and repeats the full list of required fields in Parts A and B, including that TIN and SEBI registration are optional for the Bank for International Settlements.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The coverage of the CBDT's Form 173A notification is uniformly neutral, with all four outlets, Juris Hour, CNBCTV18, Economic Times, and Times Now, reporting the same regulatory change in a straight news style. Each source leads with the fact that Form 173A is now mandatory under Rule 281A of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, effective 19 October. The only variation is granular: Juris Hour cites the enabling sections of the Act (Section 533), while CNBCTV18 and Times Now specify that the TIN and SEBI registration are optional for the Bank for International Settlements, a detail Economic Times omits. Economic Times includes a quote from Dhruv Advisors on record-keeping implications. Because the reporting is identical in framing, no outlet criticises or praises the move, the story stands as a regulatory announcement. The practical effect, which no source contests, is that affected investors must now prepare more detailed documentation. The forms already took effect on 19 October.
Coverage: 4 sources, 4 neutral
Sources (4): jurishour.in (neutral report), cnbctv18.com (neutral report), economictimes.indiatimes.com (neutral report), timesnownews.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 4 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
