I-T Act amendment allows locksmiths, carpenters, digital forensic experts to aid in searches

The Finance Bill, 2023, part of the Budget, empowers authorised officers to add such professionals to their team with necessary approvals

Don't be surprised if a locksmith, carpenter, digital forensic professional and archive expert walks in with the Income Tax team conducting searches or raids at a property next time.

The Finance Bill, 2023, part of the Budget, empowers the authorised officer to add such professionals to their team with the approval of the Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Director General or Director General.

An amendment to this effect has been proposed in the Income Tax Act, 1961, through the Finance Bill moved by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Wednesday. The move comes against the backdrop of increased use of technology and digitisation "in every aspect".

According to the 'Memorandum Explaining the Provisions in the Finance Bill', the procedure for search and seizure has become "complex" due to the increased use of technology and digitisation in every aspect, including management and maintenance of accounts, digitisation of data and cloud storage.

This has led to the need for data forensics and advanced technologies for decoding data, among others, for complete and proper analysis of accounts.

"Similarly, there is an increasing trend of undisclosed income being held in a vast variety of forms of assets or investments in addition to immovable property. Valuation of such assets and decryption of information often require specific domain experts like digital forensic professionals, valuers, archive experts etc.," the document said.

Services of other professionals like locksmiths, carpenters etc., are also required in most of the cases due to the typical nature of the operations, it said while reasoning out the need for the amendment that provides for requisitioning "any other person or entity" other than police personnel or central government employee or both. This amendment will take effect from April 1, 2023, it added.

At present, Section 132 of the I-T Act has provisions related to search and seizure, including the procedures to be followed, requisition of services of other officers for assistance, examination of books of account or other documents, the procedure for custody of evidence and provisional attachment, among others.

It also provides that during the search, the authorised officer may requisition the services of any police officer or any officer of the Central government to assist him with any of the actions required to be performed during such search. The document said it shall be the duty of such officer to comply.

Similarly, it added, there is also a provision that the authorised officer may make a reference to a valuation officer for estimating the fair market value of the property, and such reference can be made during the search or within 60 days from the date of executing the last authorisation for a search.