15/01/2026
A post by claims that from April 1, 2026, the Income Tax Department will have the 'authority' to access your social media, emails, and other digital platforms to curb tax evasion.
❌The claim being made in this post is ! Here’s the real picture:
✅ The provisions of section 247 of the Income Tax Act 2025 are strictly limited to Search and Survey operations. Unless a taxpayer is undergoing a formal search operation due to evidence of significant tax evasion, the department has no power to access their private digital spaces.
✅ The powers cannot be used for routine information gathering/processing, or even for cases under scrutiny assessment. These measures are specifically designed to target black money and large-scale evasion during search and survey, not the everyday law-abiding citizen
✅ The power to seize documents and evidence during search and survey operations has existed since the 1961 Act.
