The Income Tax Department and Central Board of Direct Taxes have introduced simplified Form Nos. 97 and 98 under the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026, replacing erstwhile Forms 60 and 61. Form No. 97 applies to persons without PAN undertaking specified transactions under Rule 159 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026, while Form No. 98 applies to persons receiving Form No. 97 declarations, subject to prescribed conditions. Form 97 is filed at the time of the specified transaction, while Form 98 is filed by October 31 for declarations received during April–September and by April 30 of the next tax year for declarations received during October–March. The revised forms use simpler language, standardized pre-filled formats and technology-driven processes. PAN quoting has been made mandatory for certain transactions, reducing Form 97 requirements to six transactions, while supporting identity, address and DOB/incorporation documents are included. Several transactions have been removed from Form 97 under Rule 114B. The filing of Form 97 is expected to reduce from around 12.5 crore to less than 2 crore.
Income Tax Department
Central Board of Direct Taxes
Form Nos. 97 and 98 (Erstwhile Form Nos. 60 and 61)
BACKGROUND:
The Income Tax Department has introduced simplified tax Forms under the Income-tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026, to improve ease of compliance for all stakeholders. The new Forms use simpler language, standardized pre-filled formats, and technology-driven processes to reduce errors and disputes.
As part of the “Taxpayer Information Series” we have selected frequently used Forms or those Forms that have undergone significant business process re-engineering. This brochure focuses on re-engineered Form Nos. 97 and 98 (Erstwhile Form Nos. 60 and 61), whose simplification aim to ease compliance for all stakeholders. As a result of re-engineering, the filing of these Forms is expected to be reduced by around 80%-85%, from current annual filing of around 12.5 crore.
1) Who should file:
Form No. 97
All persons who do not possess a permanent account number(PAN) and enter into specified transaction in rule 159 of the Income Tax Rules, 2026, are allowed to undertake such transaction without quoting PAN upon filing a declaration in Form No. 97. Following ‘persons’ are either not allowed or not required to file Form No. 97:
» Firm
» Company
» Central Government, State Governments and Consular Offices
» Non-residents, while undertaking certain transactions
A foreign company, not having any taxable income in India, can file Form No. 97 while opening a bank account or a time deposit with a banking unit in IFSC.
Form No. 98
All persons (subject to conditions prescribed for certain transactions), who receive Form No. 97 declarations from the persons undertaking any transaction specified in rule 159 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
2) Periodicity of filing
| Form Number | Period | Due Date for Filing |
| 97 (by declarant) | Not Applicable | At the time of undertaking the specified transaction. |
| 98 (by Reporting Entity) | Declarations received during April – September | 31st October of the tax Year |
| 98 (by Reporting Entity) | Declarations received during October – March | 30th April of the next tax Year |
3) Structure of Form Nos. 97 and 98
Form No. 97
Part A) Nature of transaction being undertaken
Part B) Non-PAN declaration
Part C) Identity and address details of the declarant
Part D) Details of transaction
Part E) Details of documents submitted as identity / address / DOB / DOI proof
Part F) Verification of the information
Form No. 98
Part A) Details of reporting person, statement and principal officer of reporting entity.
Part B) Report number, details of person, financial transaction and documents produced by the person as identity/address/DOB/DOI proof.
4) Documents required to file Form Nos. 97 and 98
Supporting documents for Proof of Identity, Proof of Address and Proof of Date of Birth/Incorporation are required for filing Form No. 97 by declarant.
The reporting entity only requires details captured in Form No. 97 for filing Form No. 98.
5) Key Features of New Form and benefits to the stakeholders:
| Sl. No. | Key Features of New Forms | Benefits to the stakeholders |
| 1. | In some transactions as the threshold limit has been increased, therefore PAN quoting has been made mandatory and consequently Form No. 97 is now required for six transactions only. | This will result in reduced reporting and will ease the compliance requirement for taxpayers and reporting entity. |
| 2. | Details of supporting documents for Proof of Identity, Proof of Address and Proof of Date of Birth / Incorporation to be filed in revised new Form Nos. 97 and 98. | The verification will ensure authenticity, leads to transparency and enhanced quality of information. |
6) Comparison between the new Form No. 97 and erstwhile Form No. 60
As a result of re-engineering, following changes are made with respect to filing of erstwhile Form No. 60 and new Form No. 97, for each transaction:
| S. No. | Nature of transaction under Rule 159 of Income-tax Rules, 2026 | PAN mandatory for undertaking transaction under Income-tax Rules, 2026 | Filing of Form No. 97 |
| 1. | Sale/purchase of motor vehicle (above ₹5 lakhs) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 2. | Opening of bank account | NO | YES |
| 3. | Application for credit card | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 4. | Opening a demat account | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 5. | Payment to hotel / restaurant / community centre / banquet hall / any person engaged in event management (cash payment exceeding ₹1,00,000/-) | NO | YES |
| 6. | Purchase of Mutual Fund (above ₹50,000) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 7. | Purchase of debentures/bonds from a company (above ₹50,000) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 8. | Purchase of bonds from RBI (above ₹50,000) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 9. | Cash Deposit and withdrawal in bank account (exceeding ₹10 lakhs) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 10. | Time deposit with bank | NO | YES |
| 11. | Commencement of account based relationship with an insurer (excluding where insurance premium is less than ₹50,000/-) | NO | YES |
| 12. | Contract for sale or purchase of securities (above ₹1 lakh per transaction) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 13. | Sale or purchase of unlisted shares (above ₹1 lakh per transaction) | YES | Filing of Form No. 97 not allowed |
| 14. | Sale/purchase of immovable property (Above ₹20 lakhs) | NO (Below ₹45 lakhs) | YES |
| 15. | Sale/purchase of other goods/services (Above ₹2,00,000/- per transaction) | NO | YES |
Further, the following transactions under Rule 114B of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 have now been removed from the framework of Form No. 97:
| 1 | Payment for purchase of foreign currency |
| 2 | Purchase of bank draft in cash |
| 3 | Payment for purchase of PPI |
7) Key benefits of new simplified Forms:
Significant reduction in Form No. 97:
The requirement to file Form no. 97 has been removed for a large number of transactions, substantially lowering compliance requirement. The filing is expected to be reduced from 12.5 cr to less than 2 cr.
Enhanced data completeness and reliability:
Inclusion of supporting documents such as Proof of Identity, Proof of Address, and Proof of Date of Birth/Incorporation in revised Form Nos. 97 and 98 ensures more accurate and verifiable information.
8) QR Code of “Samvaad” session:
For the benefit of the Taxpayers and Reporting Entities, the QR code of the link to the “Samvaad” session with the officer involved in drafting of the new Form, is given at the bottom of the brochure. This may be referred to for detailed discussion on the Form Nos. 97 and 98 (erstwhile Form Nos. 60 and 61).
