On March 11, 2025, the Income Tax Department re-declared that they could access any individual's digital account or social media accounts with only one specified survey or search operation. This measure will be targeted solely on suspicions of significant tax evasion.
Income tax officials told the PTI news agency that any provision related to the "virtual digital space" may only be relevant to active survey actions after the operations commence.
They also mentioned, "The tax department does not scoop or make a backdoor entry against an individual or entity through their social media accounts."
The tax officials declined the claims about having additional powers for password breaches for electronic documents, including emails, cloud storage, and social media.
These powers are only to be executed during the course of a search or survey operation and when the assessee refuses to share the passwords for digital storage drives, emails, cloud storage, and communication platforms like WhatsApp and Telegram.
The tax officials added that tax crimes and the methods of tax evasion have attained a new level of sophistication with the advent of smart internet-based tools and technology.
Under Section 132 of the existing Income Tax Act, any authorized IT officer can require any individual to grant access and provide facilities to inspect any non-documented books or accounts, including electronic records, according to Section 2 (22AA) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
In the current world, all the information and records can be stored on online platforms with servers and storage facilities for which the concerned person does not provide access. In such cases, the tax evader can be scot-free, and hence, as per the new tax regime, such search and seizure practices turn out to be helpful, officials stated.