Section 248 Powers to requisition.

Income-tax Act, 2025

At a Glance

Clause/Section 248 deals with powers to requisition assets, books of account, documents or electronic systems that are held in custody by other authorities. It identifies circumstances in which an approving authority may authorise a requisitioning officer to require delivery of such material. The provision affects taxpayers, other enforcement authorities and the income-tax department. Effective date: Not stated in the document.

Background & Scope

Statutory hooks: Clause 248 is part of the Income Tax Bill, 2025 - (Old Version) (referred herein as "this Act" where applicable) and cross-references section 247, section 268 and section 489(2) within the same bill. The provision addresses situations where books, documents, electronic media or computer systems - or assets - that may be relevant to proceedings under "this Act" are in the custody of officers or authorities under other laws. It establishes a power for the approving authority to authorise certain tax officers (Joint Director, Joint Commissioner, Assistant Director, Assistant Commissioner or Income-tax Officer) to requisition delivery of those items. The text defines the authorised requisitioning officers by reference to section 489(2).

Statutory Provision Mode

Text & Scope

Clause 248(1) specifies three factual predicates that may give an approving authority reason to believe requisitioning is justified:

• Clause (a): A person to whom a summons u/s 246(1) or a notice u/s 268(1) was issued to produce books/documents/electronic media/computer systems has omitted or failed to produce them, and those items have been taken into custody by an officer/authority under another law.
• Clause (b): Books/documents/electronic media/computer systems will be useful or relevant to any proceeding under this Act and persons subject to summons/notice will not or would not produce the material upon its return by an officer/authority that has taken them into custody under another law.
• Clause (c): Assets taken into custody under another law represent wholly or partly income or property not disclosed for the purposes of this Act by the person from whose possession/control those assets were taken.

On any of these predicates, the approving authority may authorise the listed tax officers (requisitioning officer) to require the custodian officer/authority to deliver the assets/books/documents/electronic media/computer system to the requisitioning officer.

Interpretation

The provision is framed as a power to secure materials in the hands of non-tax authorities where such materials are necessary for tax proceedings. The language signals a legislative intent to enable the tax administration to access evidence or assets that might otherwise be inaccessible due to custody by other state agencies or statutory bodies. The repeated use of "reason to believe" suggests a subjective standard based on information in the approving authority's possession, but the text does not elaborate on the nature or quantum of information required. The provision contemplates cooperation with other authorities by obliging them to deliver material "forthwith" or when they deem it no longer necessary to retain it.

Exceptions/Provisos

Not stated in the document: The text contains no express provisos limiting the power (for example, to preserve ongoing criminal investigations, to require prior consultation, or to impose timelines for return beyond the phrase "forthwith or when ... no longer necessary"). There is no stated priority between the tax authority's requisition and the custodian authority's own statutory duties, nor any mechanism for judicial oversight or appeal within the clause.

Illustrations

• Example 1: A central investigative agency has seized a company's servers during a probe. The income-tax department has issued summons u/s 246(1) for the same servers, but the company failed to produce them. Under clause 248(1)(a), the approving authority may authorise a requisitioning officer to require the investigative agency to hand over the servers. (Fact pattern consistent with the text.)
• Example 2: A public sector entity holds physical assets seized under a customs or excise law. The tax department has reason to believe the assets represent undisclosed taxable income. Clause 248(1)(c) permits requisitioning of those assets. (Fact pattern consistent with the text.)

Interplay

The clause expressly invokes sections 247(7) to (11), 250 and 251 (and, in the later Act, section 247(4)(b)) to apply "as far as may be" after delivery; thus procedural consequences for seizure, custody, preservation, and return are to be followed. The provision also cross-refers to section 489(2) for the definition of "requisitioning officer". There is no discussion within the clause of interaction with the statutory mandates of the custodian authorities or with judicial process in matters such as warrants, trial confidentiality or state security. Any further interplay with rules, notifications, or circulars is Not stated in the document.

Differences between the two provisions and practical impact

• Terminology for electronic evidence: Document 1 (Section 248, Income-tax Act, 2025) uses the phrase "any information in electronic form or on a computer system". Document 2 (Clause 248, Income Tax Bill, 2025 - Old Version) uses "any information stored in an electronic media or a computer systems" (with minor grammatical plurality differences).
  • Practical impact: The updated wording in Document 1 ("in electronic form or on a computer system") is broader and more modern in expression; it may reduce ambiguity about the medium (not restricted to "media") and better encompass cloud-based or ephemeral electronic forms. The change is primarily terminological and clarificatory.
• References to other statutory provisions: Document 1 expressly cross-references summons u/s 131(1) or notice u/s 142(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in clause (a), in addition to summons u/s 246(1) or notice u/s 268(1) of "this Act". Document 2 refers only to summons u/s 246(1) or notice u/s 268(1) (i.e., within the Bill) in clause (a).
  • Practical impact: The inclusion in Document 1 of the established Income-tax Act, 1961 provisions (sections 131(1) and 142(1)) extends express reach to documents summoned under the older statute and clarifies interplay between the two enactments. This reduces potential lacunae where documents taken under the 1961 Act might otherwise be outside requisition scope.
• Application of other sections upon delivery: Document 1 provides that, once delivered, the provisions of sections 247(4)(b), 247(7) to (11), 250 and 251 apply with substitution of "the requisitioning officer" for "the authorised officer". Document 2 applies sections 247(7) to (11), 250 and 251 only (it omits explicit application of section 247(4)(b)).
  • Practical impact: Inclusion of section 247(4)(b) in Document 1 potentially brings additional procedural safeguards or modalities (as contained in that specific sub-provision) into play when material is requisitioned. Omitting it in the older Bill could have resulted in a narrower procedural framework; the updated provision appears to broaden the set of operative rules after delivery.
• Phrasing and punctuation differences: Minor grammatical and syntactical differences (e.g., "herein and in section 489(2) referred to as the requisitioning officer" in Document 1 versus "hereinafter in this section and in section 489(2) referred to as the requisitioning officer" in Document 2).
  • Practical impact: Largely drafting polish; no substantive legal effect discernible from the text alone.
• Scope words referring to custody under other laws: Both texts refer to "taken into custody by any officer or authority under any other law for the time being in force" (Document 1) and "under any other law in force" (Document 2).
  • Practical impact: Same substantive reach; Document 1's phrase is marginally more standardised. No material change in effect.

Practical Implications

• Compliance and risk areas: The provision creates a pathway for the tax administration to obtain evidence and assets held by other agencies. Stakeholders facing summons u/ss 246(1) or 268(1) should be aware that failure to produce material may lead to requisition from custody elsewhere. Custodian authorities must consider the requisition power when balancing retention for their own prosecutions or investigations.
• Record-keeping/evidence: Given the provision's focus on electronic media and computer systems, preservation of chain-of-custody records, forensic imaging, and logs of access and transfer will be critical once material is requisitioned. The text suggests that post-delivery, procedural sections apply as if the material had been seized u/s 247, implying evidentiary and custody procedures must be observed.

Key Takeaways

• Clause 248 empowers the approving authority to authorise requisitioning officers to obtain assets or materials held by other authorities where such material is relevant or persons fail to comply with tax summons/notices.
• The clause covers books, documents, electronic media and computer systems, and assets that may represent undisclosed income or property.
• Upon delivery, specified procedural sections (247(7)-(11), 250, 251, and in updated text 247(4)(b)) apply as if the material were seized u/s 247, with "requisitioning officer" substituted for "authorised officer".
• The Bill (old version) omitted an explicit cross-reference to summons/notices u/ss 131(1) and 142(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961; the later Act rectifies that omission, clarifying reach to materials gathered under the 1961 Act.
• The provision contains no express safeguards regarding conflicts with other agencies' investigations, timelines for return beyond "forthwith" or "no longer necessary", or any judicial review mechanism within the clause.

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Full Text:

Section 248 Powers to requisition.

Power to requisition: tax officers may compel delivery of materials and electronic evidence held by other authorities. Clause 248 empowers an approving authority to authorise specified tax officers to require delivery of assets, books, documents, electronic information or computer systems held by officers or authorities under other laws where persons served with summonses or notices fail to produce material, where material will be useful to tax proceedings and would not be returned, or where custody assets represent undisclosed income; post-delivery, designated procedural seizure, custody and preservation provisions apply with the requisitioning officer substituted for the authorised officer.