The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Task Force has been granted a two-month extension till 31 July, by the Finance Ministry, to draft new direct tax code, news agency ANI reported on Friday, 24 May, citing Finance Ministry sources.

Earlier during the day, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley met all the five secretaries of his ministry as well as the chairpersons of the two apex tax bodies CBDT and CBIC.

Finance Secretary Subhash Chandra Garg, Revenue Secretary Ajay Bhushan Pandey, Expenditure Secretary G C Murmu, Financial Services Secretary Rajiv Kumar and DIPAM Secretary Atanu Chakraborty were present in the meeting.

Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) Chairman P C Mody and Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBIC) Chairman P K Das also attended the meeting at Jaitley's residence.

In 2017, then Prime Minister Narendra Modi had echoed the need for re-drafting of the Income Tax Act, along with the introduction of a new Direct Tax Code (DTC) in ‘consonance with economic needs of the country’, according to a MoneyControl report.

The Bill, which aimed at simplifying tax legislation and widening the tax base, was introduced by the UPA government in Parliament in 2010, but it lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha, the report said.

The new draft being prepared by the CBDT will factor in the economic needs of the country and international best practices, among other things, it added.