The Income Tax Department has rolled out a revamped Form 97 in the place of the old Form 60. For those in the know, Form 60 was what people used when they didn’t have a PAN card and needed to carry out certain transactions like buying property, gold, etc.
According to the tax department’s brochure, they have introduced new simplified tax forms under Income Tax Act, 2025 effective from April 1, 2026 to make compliance easier for everyone. The new forms feature simpler language, standardised pre-filled formats, and tech-driven processes to minimize errors and disputes.
The tax department also said the revamped Forms 97 and 98 which replace Form 60 and Form 61 are expected to simplify compliance. Thanks to this re-engineering, the filing of these forms is expected to drop by 80-85% from the current annual filing of around 12.5 crore.
O.P Yadav, former Principal Commissioner of Income Tax Department said to ET Wealth Online: “As per Rule 159(3), if a person ( other than company or Firm) wants to enter into a transaction of sale or purchase or gift of immovable property, he is required to obtain PAN if consideration or stamp duty value exceeds Rs 45 lakh -which practically means that form No 97 can only be used for property transactions between Rs 20 lakh and Rs 45 Lakh (both including).”
When and who should file Form 97 and Form 98
According to the Income Tax Department brochure, here is a chart showing when you need PAN and Form 97
The following transactions under Rule 114B of the Income Tax Rules, 1962 are now removed from Form 97:
- Payment for purchase of foreign currency
- Purchase of bank draft in cash
- Payment for purchase of PPI
As per Chartered Accountant Ashish Niraj, Partner , A S N & Company, Form 97 contains detailed information such as nature of transaction, declaration of not having PAN, status, income below taxable limit, identity and address details, details of transaction, documents submitted as proof etc.
Niraj says: “Here its important to understand that for immovable property, Form 97 can be filled only for value upto Rs 45 lakh. If the value of Immovable property exceeds Rs 45 lakh then applying PAN is mandatory as per rule 159.”
Who should file Form 97:
All those who do not possess a permanent account number (PAN) and enter into specified transactions in rule 159 of the Income Tax Rules, 2026, are allowed to undertake such transactions without quoting PAN upon filing a declaration in Form 97.
Following persons are either not allowed or not required to file Form 97:
- Firm
- Company
- Central and state governments and consular officers
- Non-residents, while undertaking certain transactions
A foreign company, which doesn’t have 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 98:
Everyone (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.
Periodicity of filing Form 97 and 98
The chart below shows the periodicity for filing Form 97 and 98:
| 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 | October 31 of the tax year |
| 98 (By reporting entity) | Declarations received during October-March | April 30th of the next tax year |
Documents needed to file Form No. 97 and 98
Supporting documents for proof of identity, proof of address and proof of date of birth/incorporation are needed to file Form 97 by a declarant. The reporting entity only requires details captured in Form 97 for filing Form 98.
Key features and benefits:
| Serial number | Key features | Benefits |
| 1 | In some transactions as the threshold limit has been increased, therefore PAN quoting has been made mandatory and consequently Form 97 is now required for six transactions only. | This will result in reduced reporting and will ease compliance requirements for taxpayers and reporting entitiesy. |
| 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 97 and 98. | The verification will ensure authenticity, leads to transparency and enhanced quality of information |
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