Fact-check: Will Income Tax officers have access to your social media accounts?

If you have been on social media, you may have chanced upon posts claiming that in the coming year, officials from the Income Tax Department would have access to every citizen’s social media accounts, raising privacy concerns.  

However, the Press Information Bureau has fact-checked this “misleading claim”, which has sparked a row on social media.   

Here’s a deep dive.  

The claim 

A social media handle “Indian Tech & infra” posted on the platform X saying, “Starting April 1, 2026, the Income Tax Department will have the authority to access social media, emails and other platforms to curb tax evasion.” This comes amid rising rumours related to surveillance under the new Income Tax Act, 2025. 

The counter 

However, the government’s fact-checking team took on the claim, calling it “misleading,” and clarified why one should not be worried about the provisions of the Income Tax Act 2025. 

“A post by Indian Tech Guide claims that from April 1, 2026, the Income Tax Department will have the ‘authority’ to access your social media, emails, and other digital platforms to curb tax evasion. The claim being made in this post is #misleading,” it said. 

A post by @IndianTechGuide claims that from April 1, 2026, the Income Tax Department will have the 'authority' to access your social media, emails, and other digital platforms to curb tax evasion.#PIBFactCheck

❌The claim being made in this post is #misleading! Here’s the real… pic.twitter.com/hIyPPcvALF

— PIB Fact Check (@PIBFactCheck) December 22, 2025

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According to PIB, in reality, the bigger picture mentions this:

“The provisions of Section 247 of the Income Tax Act 2025 are strictly limited to search and survey operations. 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,” it said. 

The fact-checking unit added that, “The powers cannot be used for routine information gathering/processing, or even for cases under scrutiny assessment. These measures are specifically designed to target black money and large-scale evasion during search and survey, not the everyday law-abiding citizen.” 

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It concluded the post saying that the power to seize documents and evidence during search and survey operations has existed since the 1961 Act. The fact-check unit further said that this new law does not have unprecedented surveillance powers over taxpayers’ personal digital lives.  

Income Tax Act 2025 vs Income Tax Act of 1961 

Passed in August this year, the Income Tax Act 2025 overhauls the Income Tax Act of 1961, a six-decade-old law. It is aimed at modernising tax enforcement for the digital age, and will come into effect from April 1, 2026.   

The new Section 247 has dragged tax searches into a digital-driven model. 

As reported by Frontline, it expands search and seizure powers into digital spaces, attempting to target tax evasion hidden in emails, encrypted devices and others. Since then, the concern for privacy and dissent has taken centre stage, while many believe that the same act may fight against tax fraud in the long run. 

On the other hand, searches were largely physical under the Income Tax Act, 1961, which comes under the old section 132. It allowed authorities to enter property, seize equipment, documents and access digital data, according to NDTV. The focus was on undeclared gold in bank lockers and cash. This law didn’t have the provision to force taxpayers to divulge passwords or decrypt data. 

With inputs from agencies