Are income-tax returns of individuals confidential?

The matter has come up after Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and her husband, Dhaval Buch, said their income-tax details had been accessed fraudulently.

'Shockingly, our income-tax returns clearly have been obtained by adopting fraudulent means and illegally.

'This is a clear breach of not only our right to privacy (which is a fundamental right) but also a violation of the Income Tax Act,' the couple said in a statement.

Experts say disclosing an individual's income-tax returns is tantamount to violating the person's fundamental right to privacy as recognised by the Constitution.

"According to Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, such disclosure is prohibited unless it is proven that the information serves a larger public interest that overrides the individual's right to confidentiality," said Sonam Chandwani, partner, KS Legal & Associates.

"The Income Tax Act, 1961, further enforces this protection under Section 138, which restricts access to tax-related information except under specific circumstances defined by law," Chandwani explained.