⌖ Knowledge Bank / Acts & Rules
The statute book.
37 acts across 6 heads — direct tax, indirect tax, corporate law, VAT, GST and the allied statute book. Status flags note where a law has been repealed, subsumed by GST, or remains only partially in force. For the subordinate legislation made under each statute, see the Rules & Regulations library.
37 acts indexed
⌖ §01 / Direct Tax
Direct Tax.
The statutes governing taxation of income and wealth — the working core of every assessment, appeal and TDS return we file. The 1961 Act remains the operative law; the 2025 Act, once notified, will replace it for assessment years on and from its appointed date.
Income-tax Act, 1961
IT Act
The charging statute for income tax in India — 23 chapters covering residence, heads of income, deductions, assessment, TDS, appeals and penalties. Read with the Income-tax Rules, 1962 and annual Finance Acts.
⌖ Administered by CBDT
Income-tax Act, 2025
IT Act 2025
The consolidating re-enactment that replaces the 1961 Act in a modernised structure. Effective from the date notified by the Central Government — until then, the 1961 Act governs.
⌖ Administered by CBDT
Wealth-tax Act, 1957
Abolished by the Finance Act, 2015 with effect from AY 2016-17. Retained here because legacy assessments, refunds and appeals continue to be argued under it.
⌖ Administered by CBDT
Income Declaration Scheme, 2016
A one-time disclosure window under Chapter IX of the Finance Act, 2016 — declarations had to be filed between 01 Jun and 30 Sep 2016 with tax, surcharge and penalty aggregating 45%. Closed scheme; included for reference.
⌖ Administered by CBDT
⌖ §02 / Indirect Tax (Pre-GST)
Indirect Tax.
The legacy indirect-tax regime that GST has largely replaced. Service tax, excise and CST appeals continue to be heard for periods up to 30 Jun 2017; customs and certain state levies remain in force.
Finance Act (Service Tax), 1994
Service Tax
Chapter V of the Finance Act, 1994 introduced service tax — initially on three services, eventually on a negative-list basis. Subsumed by GST from 01 Jul 2017; appeals up to that date continue.
⌖ Administered by CBIC
Central Sales Tax Act, 1956
CST
Levied tax on inter-state sale of goods. Operative for periods up to 30 Jun 2017; replaced by IGST. Form C / F / H assessments continue under it for legacy years.
⌖ Administered by CBIC / State authorities
Central Excise Act, 1944
Levies central excise duty on goods manufactured in India. Subsumed by GST for most goods from 01 Jul 2017, but remains operative for tobacco products and petroleum (petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas, crude).
⌖ Administered by CBIC
Customs Act, 1962
Governs the levy of customs duty on import and export of goods, baggage, courier and postal articles. Read with the Customs Tariff Act, 1975 and allied valuation, drawback and AEO rules.
⌖ Administered by CBIC
Entry Tax Acts (State)
State levies on entry of goods into a local area for use, consumption or sale. Largely subsumed by GST from 01 Jul 2017; constitutional validity is settled by the Supreme Court (Jindal Stainless, 2016).
⌖ Administered by State commercial tax authorities
⌖ §03 / Corporate Laws
Corporate Laws.
The framework statutes for incorporation, governance, securities, insolvency and contracts. The 2013 Companies Act is the operative law; sections of the 1956 Act remain in force for matters not yet notified under the new code.
Companies Act, 2013
470 sections across 29 chapters governing incorporation, directors, audit, related-party transactions, mergers, NCLT proceedings and winding-up. Read with the Companies (Various) Rules, 2014.
⌖ Administered by MCA / NCLT
Companies Act, 1956
A handful of sections — notably those relating to producer companies and certain winding-up provisions — remain in force until the corresponding sections of the 2013 Act are notified.
⌖ Administered by MCA
Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008
LLP Act
Governs LLP incorporation, partner liability, contribution, audit and conversion. Read with the LLP Rules, 2009 and the LLP (Amendment) Act, 2021 which introduced decriminalisation and small-LLP relief.
⌖ Administered by MCA
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016
IBC
A unified insolvency framework for companies, LLPs, partnerships and individuals — corporate insolvency resolution under Part II, individual under Part III (yet to be fully notified).
⌖ Administered by IBBI / NCLT
Securities and Exchange Board of India Act, 1992
SEBI Act
Establishes SEBI and confers powers to regulate the securities market — listed companies, intermediaries, mutual funds, AIFs, REITs, InvITs and ESG / climate disclosures.
⌖ Administered by SEBI
Securities Contracts (Regulation) Act, 1956
SCRA
The foundational statute for stock exchanges and the listing of securities — definitions of 'securities', recognition of exchanges, and listing-agreement enforcement.
⌖ Administered by SEBI
Indian Partnership Act, 1932
Governs registered partnership firms — formation, mutual rights and duties, dissolution and the consequences of non-registration under Section 69.
⌖ Administered by Registrar of Firms (State)
Indian Contract Act, 1872
The general law of contracts in India — offer, acceptance, consideration, capacity, performance and remedies. The bedrock under every commercial engagement.
⌖ Administered by Civil courts
⌖ §04 / VAT Laws
VAT Laws.
State-level value-added tax statutes — operative for periods up to 30 Jun 2017 for most goods. After GST rollout, state VAT continues only for petroleum products (petrol, diesel, ATF, natural gas, crude) and alcoholic liquor for human consumption.
Maharashtra Value Added Tax Act, 2002
MVAT
Operative for legacy assessments up to 30 Jun 2017; continues to apply to petroleum and alcohol within Maharashtra.
⌖ Administered by Maharashtra Sales Tax Department
Karnataka Value Added Tax Act, 2003
KVAT
Pre-GST sales-tax regime for Karnataka; retained for petroleum and alcohol, and for appeals on legacy periods.
⌖ Administered by Karnataka Commercial Taxes Department
Tamil Nadu Value Added Tax Act, 2006
TNVAT
Pre-GST VAT for Tamil Nadu — appeals and refunds for periods up to 30 Jun 2017 continue under it.
⌖ Administered by Tamil Nadu Commercial Taxes Department
Delhi Value Added Tax Act, 2004
DVAT
Pre-GST VAT for the NCT of Delhi; legacy assessment, audit and appeal proceedings continue under it.
⌖ Administered by Delhi GST / VAT Department
Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003
GVAT
Pre-GST VAT regime for Gujarat; continues to apply to petroleum and alcohol post-GST.
⌖ Administered by Gujarat Commercial Tax Department
West Bengal Value Added Tax Act, 2003
WBVAT
Pre-GST VAT for West Bengal — retained for petroleum, alcohol and legacy proceedings.
⌖ Administered by West Bengal Directorate of Commercial Taxes
⌖ §05 / Other Statutes
Other Statutes.
Allied laws that show up across our engagements — foreign exchange, anti-money-laundering, banking, stamp duty, negotiable instruments and the disclosure regime. Each one ties back to either the Income Tax Act, FEMA or the Companies Act in practice.
Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999
FEMA
The civil-law regime for cross-border transactions — current and capital account, ODI, FDI, ECB, LRS and ESOP routings. Read with the FEM (Various Transactions) Regulations and RBI Master Directions.
⌖ Administered by RBI / ED
Prevention of Money Laundering Act, 2002
PMLA
Criminalises the laundering of proceeds of crime, and imposes KYC, record-keeping and STR/CTR reporting on banks, NBFCs, payment systems and now reporting entities including CA firms in defined scenarios.
⌖ Administered by ED / FIU-IND
Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934
RBI Act
Establishes the Reserve Bank, defines the monetary policy framework, and regulates NBFCs under Chapter III-B. Read alongside the Master Directions on NBFC classification and prudential norms.
⌖ Administered by RBI
Banking Regulation Act, 1949
Governs banking companies, co-operative banks and PSBs — capital adequacy, licensing, branch authorisation, mergers and resolution. Updated by the 2020 amendment to bring co-operative banks under RBI.
⌖ Administered by RBI
Negotiable Instruments Act, 1881
NI Act
Governs promissory notes, bills of exchange and cheques — and, through Section 138, the criminalisation of cheque dishonour. A working tool in commercial dispute practice.
⌖ Administered by Magistrate courts
Indian Stamp Act, 1899
Levies stamp duty on instruments. Amended by the Finance Act, 2019 to bring securities-related stamping into a centralised, exchange-collected regime effective 01 Jul 2020.
⌖ Administered by State revenue authorities / SEBI
Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act, 1988
Benami Act
Substantially re-enacted by the 2016 amendment — provides for confiscation of benami property and prosecution of benamidars, beneficial owners and abettors. Adjudication before the Adjudicating Authority, appeal to the Appellate Tribunal.
⌖ Administered by IT Department (Benami Unit)
Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015
Black Money Act
A parallel charging code for undisclosed foreign income and assets of Indian residents — 30% flat tax plus 90% penalty, and criminal prosecution under Sections 50-53.
⌖ Administered by CBDT
Right to Information Act, 2005
RTI Act
Establishes the citizen's right to seek information from public authorities — a working tool in pursuing pending refunds, assessment records and registry filings.
⌖ Administered by CIC / SIC
⌖ §06 / GST Laws
GST Laws.
The four-statute structure that replaced most pre-GST indirect taxes from 01 Jul 2017 — Central, Integrated, Union Territory and State GST, plus the Compensation Cess Act. Read with the corresponding Rules, GSTN notifications and the GST Council decisions.
Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
CGST
Levies CGST on intra-State supplies and is the procedural backbone — registration, returns, refund, audit, advance ruling and appeals. Read with the CGST Rules, 2017.
⌖ Administered by CBIC / GST Council
Integrated Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
IGST
Levies IGST on inter-State supplies, imports and SEZ transactions — and contains the place-of-supply rules under Sections 10-13 that drive most cross-border tax analysis.
⌖ Administered by CBIC
Union Territory Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017
UTGST
Levies UTGST in union territories without legislatures (Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, Andaman & Nicobar, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu, Ladakh).
⌖ Administered by CBIC
State Goods and Services Tax Acts, 2017
SGST
Each State (and the UTs of Delhi, Puducherry and Jammu & Kashmir) enacted its own SGST Act mirroring the CGST. Levy, exemptions and procedure are uniform; State authorities retain enforcement jurisdiction.
⌖ Administered by State commercial tax authorities
Goods and Services Tax (Compensation to States) Act, 2017
GST Compensation
Levies the Compensation Cess on a notified list of demerit and luxury goods — tobacco, aerated waters, motor cars above defined thresholds — to fund State compensation for GST transition losses.
⌖ Administered by CBIC
⌖ On currency
The catalog is the editorial map we use to brief clients on which statute governs a given transaction. For the operative text of each act, the authoritative sources are indiacode.nic.in for consolidated bare acts, the relevant department portals (CBDT, CBIC, MCA, SEBI, RBI) for the rules, and the latest Finance Act for amendments.
Status flags reflect the position as currently notified. Where a statute is partially in force or has been subsumed by GST, the blurb names the carve-outs (petroleum, alcohol, legacy appeals) we still see in practice.
Engagement clients receive a working note on every statute relevant to their entity — these public pages are the generic index, useful for orientation and educational use.