NEW DELHI (Diya TV) — India’s new Income Tax Bill, 2025, aims to give tax authorities greater powers to access taxpayers’ digital data, such as emails, social media profiles, and online investment sites while investigating. This is a major departure from the current Income Tax Act of 1961, which does not specifically include such digital spaces.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the revamped bill in Parliament on February 13, aiming to modernize and simplify the six-decade-old legislation. The bill is currently under review by a parliamentary select committee.
According to the new provisions, during a search, tax authorities are allowed to access other digital platforms such as email servers, social media profiles, online investment accounts, trading and bank accounts, and digital application servers. This addition is made to bring tax investigations up to speed with the digital era and stop financial fraud.
Legal professionals have raised alarms over the possible violations of privacy. A partner with law firm Nangia Andersen LLP, Vishwas Panjiar, explained that in the absence of stringent safeguards, such broad powers would enable harassment of taxpayers or intrusive examinations of private data. He said a well-balanced approach should be employed so that the proper tax inquiries are not allowed to violate digital rights and privacy.
The bill also adds the term “virtual digital space,” which covers spaces that are experienced through computer technology, including email servers, social media accounts, and cloud storage. This addition is in line with the government’s attempts to keep up with the changing nature of digital assets and interactions.
In addition, the legislation under consideration broadens the definition of unreported income to encompass virtual digital assets, including cryptocurrencies
