Income Tax Day 2022: Why IT department celebrates July 24 as ‘Aaykar Diwas’

Income Tax Day 2022: On July 24, 1860, income tax was introduced in India. The first Income Tax Day was celebrated on July 24, 2010.

Published on: Jul 24, 2022, 08:35:49 IST

By HT News Desk, New Delhi

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The Income Tax department observes July 24 every year as Income Tax Day or ‘Aaykar Diwas’, to commemorate the introduction of provision of income tax in the country.

History of Income Tax Day

On July 24, 1860, Sir James Wilson introduced income tax for the first time in India. Wilson did this to compensate for the losses suffered by the British regime during the first war of independence in 1857.

‘Aaykar Diwas’ was celebrated for the first time on July 24, 2010, to mark 150 years of income tax in India.

“Since income tax was first levied as a duty in the year 1860 and the authority to levy that duty came into force on July 24 of that year, it is proposed to celebrate this day as Income Tax Investiture Day,” a finance ministry official said in July 2010.

Income Tax Day celebrations

In the week preceding the occasion, several activities are undertaken by regional offices of the tax department. Outreach programmes are held across the country to promote tax payment as a value norm, and to sensitise potential taxpayers that paying taxes is an ethical duty of the citizens.

Income Tax department

Headquartered in New Delhi, the Income Tax department is responsible for direct tax collection for the Government of India. It functions under the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of finance, and is headed by an apex body called the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT).

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