The PIB clarified that claims about the Income Tax Department accessing social media accounts starting April 2026 are misleading. Here’s what the fact-check report says.
The Press Information Bureau (PIB) has issued a detailed fact-check report after a post on X (formerly Twitter) claimed that, starting 1 April 2026, the Income Tax Department would have the ‘authority’ to access social media accounts, emails, and other digital platforms to curb tax evasion.
Labelling the social media post as ‘misleading’, PIB clarified that under the provisions of section 247 of the Income Tax Act 2025, such measures are strictly limited to Search and Survey operations. This means that taxpayers who are not under investigation or suspected of tax evasion do not need to worry.
“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 said in the report.
Honest citizens won’t be affected
The government media agency also said that the Income Tax Department is not authorised to access private digital spaces for routine information gathering, data processing, or even for cases under scrutiny assessment. Hence, honest citizens are not affected by these measures.
“These measures are specifically designed to target black money and large-scale evasion during search and survey, not the everyday law-abiding citizen,” PIB said to assure citizens.
The fact-checking report also mentioned that the power to seize documents and evidence during search and survey operations has always existed since the 1961 Act.
Income Tax 1961 Act replaced
In August, Parliament passed the new Income Tax Bill 2025, which replaced the six-decade reign of the Income Tax Act of 1961.
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