---
title: "Direct Tax Code (DTC): India's Tax Law Reform"
description: "The Direct Tax Code aims to simplify India's tax system by replacing outdated laws, making it essential for policymakers and tax professionals."
url: "https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/glossary/direct-tax-code"
---

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Model Diplomat Research Team · Last reviewed June 22, 2026

TL;DR

- The Direct Tax Code is a proposed Indian legislative framework intended to consolidate and replace the Income-tax Act, 1961, and the Wealth Tax Act, 1957.
- Was the Direct Tax Code ever enacted into law?
- How does the DTC differ from GST?
- What happened to the DTC's GAAR provision?
- Is the Income-tax Bill, 2025, the same as the DTC?

[Civil Service & Diplomatic Exams](https://modeldiplomat.com/learn/civil-services/glossary)Updated June 22, 2026

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## Timeline

1. 30 August 2010

   A revised draft followed, and the Direct Taxes Code Bill, 2010, was introduced in the Lok Sabha on and referred to the Standing Committee on Finance chaired…

2. 1 April 2017

   It also proposed taxing the Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT) on gross assets rather than book profits—a provision withdrawn after industry objection—and revising…

3. 23 July 2024

   The proposal returned to prominence when Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, in the Union Budget speech of , announced a comprehensive review of the Income-…

4. 1 July 2017

   It is a direct tax instrument and therefore wholly separate from the Goods and Services Tax (GST), which restructured indirect taxation and was implemented o…

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Example

In her Union Budget speech on 23 July 2024, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a six-month comprehensive review of the Income-tax Act, 1961, reviving the long-standing Direct Tax Code objective and leading to the Income-tax Bill, 2025.

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