New Form 161 for Penalty Waiver Applications Under Income-tax Act
If you are applying to waive a penalty under section 440(2), you must now use the updated Form 161.
- Document
- Notification Notification No. 134/2026
- Dated
- 12 Oct 2026
- Effective
- 8 October 2026
This page was written by Patron Accounting’s AI from the official release and reviewed before publishing. It explains the document in plain language. It is not the document itself. Where this page and the original differ, the original governs.
The short version
- The government has released a revised version of Form 161.
- This form is used to request a waiver of tax penalties.
- The change applies to all new penalty waiver applications.
- Rule 231 now explicitly includes the process for penalty waivers.
In short
Notification 134/2026 updates the official application process for taxpayers seeking to waive penalties under section 440(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
What has changed
How it worked before
Previously, there was a different version of Form 161 used for these applications, and the rules did not explicitly mention the waiver process in the same way.
What has changed
The government has replaced the old Form 161 with a new version and updated Rule 231 to formally include the term 'waiver' in the penalty application process.
Who this affects
This affects any individual or business entity that has received a penalty notice and intends to apply for a waiver under section 440(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
An example
Imagine you run a small retail business and received a penalty notice for under-reported income. You decide to apply for a waiver under section 440(2) to avoid the penalty. You must now fill out the updated Form 161, which includes specific sections for your tax year, order details, and payment information, instead of using the previous form version.
What you should do
If you are planning to file a penalty waiver application, ensure you download and use the new Form 161 format rather than any older versions you may have saved.
If you do nothing
If you submit an application using an outdated form, it may be rejected or cause processing delays. Using the correct, current form is a requirement for your application to be considered valid by the tax authorities.
The terms explained
- Section 440(2)
- A specific part of the Income-tax Act that allows taxpayers to request that a penalty be cancelled or reduced.
- Waiver
- An official decision to cancel or remove a penalty that would otherwise be charged.
- Assessment order
- A formal document from the tax department stating your calculated tax liability.
The original document
| Issued by | IT |
|---|---|
| Document | Notification Notification No. 134/2026 |
| Full title | CBDT has issued Notification No. 134/2026 dated 8 October 2026, notifying the Income-tax (Sixth Amendment) Rules, 2026, which introduce a revised Form 161 for filing applications for waiver of penalty under section 440(2) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. |
| Issued on | 12 October 2026 |
| Effective | 8 October 2026 |
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