The new bill authorizes tax officials to access computers, emails, and social media accounts, which has raised privacy issues.
The new tax bill on income has been making headlines recently, and not in the way taxpayers would like. While the government claimed it’s all about making tax laws simpler, hidden in the bill is a provision that gives sweeping powers to tax authorities to rummage through emails, trading accounts, social media profiles, and more during tax audits.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman presented the new Income Tax Bill, 2025, in Parliament as a six-decade-old tax system overhaul. But first, it will go through a select committee review. And the central issue is a provision that widens the jurisdiction of tax raids beyond what currently exists to “virtual digital spaces.”.
Currently, the tax officials may request access to laptops, hard drives, and emails, but because the current tax legislation is not specific when it comes to digital records, such requests do not stand as much of a chance in a court of law. The proposed bill changes everything: tax regulators can request access to digital funds, and a taxpayer who won’t comply could have passwords around-passed, security settings overrode, and files unsealed.
Force open any lock of a door, box, locker, safe, almirah, or other container for exercising powers under clause (i), enter and search any building, place, etc., where the keys thereof or the means of such access to a building, place, etc., is not obtainable, or access by overcoming the access code to any aforesaid computer system, or virtual digital space, where the access code thereof is not obtainable.
