Lok Sabha to take up Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, Taxation Amendment Bill today
The Lok Sabha took up the Bankers' Books Evidence Bill, 2026 and the Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 for consideration and passing
The Bankers' Books Evidence Bill replaces the Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891, extending the legal definition of "bankers' books" to physical, electronic, digital, virtual, and cloud-based banking records, including backup and disaster-recovery data
The Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill amends the Income-tax Act, 2025, the Finance Act, 2026, and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007, and repeals the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 while validating actions already taken under it
Separately, adjournment motions were moved seeking a new anti-defection law to address mass political defections, and a discussion on police action during a student protest, including a demand for a statement from the Union Home Minister on the incident
Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 and Its 2026 Replacement
The Bankers' Books Evidence Act, 1891 allows certified copies of bank records to be admitted as evidence in court without producing the original ledgers, easing the evidentiary burden in banking-related litigation. Enacted in the pre-independence era, it defines "bankers' books" only in terms of physical ledgers, registers, and similar paper records, and does not account for digital banking.
Key Details
- Original Act dates to 1891 — one of India's oldest surviving commercial-evidence statutes, alongside the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (now replaced by the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023)
- The 2026 Bill expands "bankers' books" to expressly cover physical, electronic, digital, virtual, and cloud-based records, including those held at backup and disaster-recovery sites
- Introduces technology-neutral certification standards for authenticating digital banking records as admissible court evidence
- Complements the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam, 2023, which already recognises electronic records as primary evidence, by adding sector-specific certification rules for banking data
The Bill modernises a 135-year-old evidentiary framework to match India's digital banking ecosystem — core banking systems, UPI, and cloud storage — ensuring bank records used in fraud, recovery, and other litigation remain legally admissible regardless of format.
Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 — Ordinance Replacement and Tax Reform
This Bill follows the recurring pattern of converting a tax ordinance into a permanent Act, as with the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 2019, which similarly replaced an earlier ordinance. It repeals the Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026 while validating actions already taken under it, and adds fresh amendments to the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Key Details
- Amends three statutes: the Income-tax Act, 2025; the Finance Act, 2026; and the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
- Proposes extending tax exemptions to foreign entities supplying capital goods and equipment to Indian contract manufacturers of specified electronic goods, aimed at strengthening India's electronics manufacturing ecosystem
- Amends the Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007 to empower the Central Government to notify electronic payment modes on which banks or system providers cannot levy charges, continuing the zero-charge policy approach applied to instruments such as UPI
- Follows the Article 123 ordinance-to-Act route used for other recent fiscal legislation, requiring parliamentary ratification within the constitutionally mandated window
The Bill is a routine but consequential instance of Parliament converting an income-tax ordinance into permanent law while using the occasion to add incentives for manufacturing and investment.
Parliamentary Procedure — the Adjournment Motion
An adjournment motion is a procedural device available only in the Lok Sabha, used to draw the House's attention to a definite matter of urgent public importance; it carries an implicit element of censure against the government. If admitted, it takes precedence over the day's normal business.
Key Details
- Available only in the Lok Sabha, not the Rajya Sabha, reflecting the principle of collective responsibility of the Council of Ministers to the Lok Sabha under Article 75(3)
- Requires the support of at least 50 members for admission, and must relate to a specific, factual, and urgent matter rather than a broad policy question
- Distinct from a No-Confidence Motion (which tests the government's majority) and a Calling Attention Motion (which seeks a government statement without an implicit censure)
- Passage of an adjournment motion is rare and would itself amount to a vote of censure on the government
The adjournment motions moved alongside the day's Bills sought discussion on a new anti-defection framework and a specific incident of police action, illustrating how the device is used to force urgent debate distinct from the scheduled legislative agenda.
- Bankers' Books Evidence Act being replaced: enacted 1891 (135 years old)
- New Bill recognises physical, electronic, digital, virtual, and cloud-based bank records as admissible evidence
- Taxation and Other Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 amends: Income-tax Act, 2025; Finance Act, 2026; Payment and Settlement Systems Act, 2007
- Ordinance being repealed and validated: Income-tax (Amendment) Ordinance, 2026
- Adjournment motion admission threshold: support of at least 50 members in the Lok Sabha
- Adjournment motions are available only in the Lok Sabha, not the Rajya Sabha