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Dec 23, 2025
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Income Tax Officers To Access Your Bank, Social Media Accounts? A Fact Check
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has released a detailed fact-check report after a social media post claimed that the Income Tax department would be able to access social media accounts, emails and other digital platform details of users from April 1, 2026. PIB flagged the post as misleading, adding that under the provisions of the Income Tax Act 2025, such measures will be limited to 'Search and Survey' operations, meaning the honest taxpayers will remain unaffected.
"Unless a taxpayer is undergoing a formal search operation due to evidence of significant tax evasion, the department has no power to access their private digital spaces," PIB stated, highlighting that an X handle @IndianTechGuide shared the misleading post, claiming mass digital surveillance by tax authorities.
According to PIB, the Income Tax Department cannot access private digital platforms for routine assessments, data processing, or scrutiny cases. Law-abiding taxpayers are not affected by these provisions.
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