Government clarified in the Rajya Sabha that Income Tax (IT) officials are not permitted to access personal emails, social media, or bank accounts of all assesses. However, under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act, 1961, authorized officers can inspect books of accounts or electronic records during search and seizure operations. Similar provisions are included in the proposed Income-tax Bill, 2025, under Section 247. In cases where an access code to a computer system is unavailable and the concerned person does not cooperate, authorized officers may override the access code to gain access. These measures are designed to facilitate compliance during investigations, ensuring that access is limited to records relevant to the case. The government emphasized that personal communication and unrelated digital accounts remain outside the purview of such actions.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF FINANCE
DEPARTMENT OF REVENUE
RAJYA SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2784
ANSWERED ON 25.03.2025
ACCESS BY IT OFFICIALS TO THE PERSONAL EMAIL, SOCIAL MEDIA AND
BANK ACCOUNTS
2784. SHRI RITABRATA BANERJEE:
Will the Minister of FINANCE be pleased to state:
(a) Whether Income Tax Officials will be allowed access to the personal e-mails, social media and bank accounts of all assesses; and
(b) if so, the details there of and the reasons therefor?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF FINANCE
(SHRI PANKAJ CHAUDHARY)
(a) & (b) No, section 132 of the existing Income tax Act, 1961 enables the authorized officer to require any person who is found to be in possession or control of any books of account or other documents maintained in the form of electronic record as defined in clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 to afford the necessary facility to inspect such books of account or other documents during the search and seizure action.
Similar provision has been provided in the Income-tax Bill, 2025 under clause (ii) of sub-section (1) of section 247. Further, in certain cases of search and seizure authorized by the competent authority, where access code is not available and the person concerned is not cooperating with the proceedings, authorized officer may gain access by overriding the access code to such computer system.
