Summary
- The Income-tax Act, 2025 expands search and seizure powers into "virtual digital space," allowing tax officials to access emails, social media, and online accounts without prior notice or judicial approval.
- Section 247 enables officers to override access controls if necessary, raising concerns about privacy and the breadth of digital searches.
- The article critiques these provisions against constitutional privacy principles from Justice K.S. Puttaswamy (Retd.) v. Union of India, highlighting issues of legality, necessity, and proportionality.
- Proposed safeguards include independent authorization and data minimization to balance tax enforcement with individual privacy rights.
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