Notification/Circular No.: G.S.R. 646(E) dated July 21, 2026
Applicable Act/Rule: Income-tax Act, 2025; Income-tax Rules, 2026
Applicable Section/Rule: Section 533 read with Section 262 of the Income-tax Act, 2025; Rule 157, sub-rule (5), clause (c) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026
Effective Date: July 21, 2026
These rules are made in exercise of powers conferred by Section 533 read with Section 262 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, further amending the Income-tax Rules, 2026. The Income-tax Rules, 2026 were published vide notification G.S.R. 198(E) dated 20th March, 2026, and were last amended vide notification G.S.R. 241(E) dated 31st March, 2026.
These rules are called the Income-tax (Second Amendment) Rules, 2026. In Rule 157, sub-rule (5), clause (c) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, the existing clause is substituted with a revised definition of “specified fund,” reading as follows:
‘(c) “specified fund” means —
(i) any fund established or incorporated in India in the form of a trust or a company or a limited liability partnership or a body corporate which has been granted a certificate of registration as a Category I or Category II Alternative Investment Fund and is regulated under —
(A) the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Alternative Investment Funds) Regulations, 2012 made under the Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992 (15 of 1992); or
(B) the International Financial Services Centres Authority (Fund Management) Regulations, 2022 made under the International Financial Services Centres Authority Act, 2019 (50 of 2019) and which is located in any International Financial Services Centre; or
(ii) any fund which has been referred to in Schedule VI [Note 1(g)] to the Act;’
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