Income Tax Notification No. 64/2026: Comprehensive Guide to Technical Corrections and Form Clean-Up

The Ministry of Finance, through the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), has issued a corrigendum vide Notification No. 64/2026 – Income Tax dated 16 April 2026 (G.S.R. 286(E)). This corrigendum fine-tunes an earlier notification (G.S.R. 198(E) dated 20 March 2026) by rectifying numerous clerical, typographical, referencing and formatting errors scattered across different rules, notes, annexures and forms.

While none of these changes alter the substantive tax law or create new obligations, they are crucial for accurate compliance, as they correct rule cross‑references, numbering, headings, and specific fields (like PAN/Aadhaar columns) in prescribed forms and annexures.

This article breaks down the essence of these corrections in an organised, reader‑friendly manner so that assessee and professionals can quickly understand where changes have occurred and what they mean in practice.

1. Background of the Corrigendum

The corrigendum targets the earlier notification published in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3, sub‑section (i), G.S.R. 198(E), dated 20 March 2026. The earlier notification introduced or amended various Income-tax Rules and forms. During implementation, several minor but important technical defects were identified, such as:

  • Wrong reference to a section instead of a rule
  • Incorrect or inconsistent numbering of items and notes
  • Spelling mistakes affecting clarity
  • Redundant or conflicting references to PAN/Aadhaar
  • Incorrect sequencing of sub‑clauses in forms and notes

The present Notification No. 64/2026 remedies these issues across multiple pages (from page 1664 up to around page 2500 of the concerned Gazette), thereby ensuring internal consistency and legal clarity.

Note: None of these modifications create any new tax burden or relief. They purely refine the language and structure of the previously issued notification to avoid misinterpretation.

2. Corrections in Rule References and Marginal Headings

Several corrections relate to rule and section cross‑references:

2.1 Adjustment of Reference in Rule 165

  • At page 1664, in rule 165, the marginal heading contained an incorrect reference.
  • After the phrase “read with”, the words “sub-section (2) of said section” are replaced with figures and brackets “263(2)”.
  • This ensures that the marginal heading correctly points to the relevant provision 263(2).

2.2 Omission of Superfluous Sub‑rule Number

  • At page 1711, in rule 229, the notation “(1)” is omitted.
  • This typically indicates that the rule is to be read as a single integrated provision rather than a sub‑divided one.

2.3 Replacement of “Section” by “Rule”

At page 1752, in rule 243, incorrect references to sections are rectified:

  • “section 242” is replaced with “rule 242”
  • “section 244” is replaced with “rule 244”

This replaces mistaken references to statutory sections with correct references to corresponding rules, aligning the text with the structure of the Income-tax Rules.

3. Re‑numbering and Alignment of Notes and Annexures

The corrigendum also contains a series of renumbering exercises to align notes and annexure entries.

3.1 Basic Note Number Adjustments

  • Page 1814: In Notes, “A-1-1” is corrected to “A-1”.
  • Page 1815: In Notes, “A A-6” is corrected to “A-6”.

These fix evident typographical errors in the labelling of annexures or note items.

3.2 Re‑sequencing of Note Items

  • Page 1847: Notes numbered “6.”, “7.”, “8.” and “9.” are re‑labelled as “1.”, “2.”, “3.” and “4.” respectively.

This suggests that the earlier numbering started at 6 instead of 1; the change normalises the series and helps avoid confusion when cross‑referencing.

4. Standardisation of Verification Language

The corrigendum consistently tidies up verification clauses in various forms to remove plural options where not required.

  • Page 1954: In Verification by an accountant, “my/our” is replaced with “my”.
  • Page 1958: Same correction—“my/our” changed to “my”.
  • Page 2072: In a Verification clause, “my/our*” is replaced with “my”.
  • Page 2456: In verification, paragraph 3, “my/our” is changed to “my”.
  • Page 2475: In Certificate, “my/our” is replaced with “my”.

These changes indicate that the prescribed format prefers a singular first‑person verification by the signing professional instead of giving an either/or choice.