‘No warrant, no notice, this is surveillance’: Cong on new Income Tax Bill
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Income Tax Bill in Parliament on February 13. The bill is being reviewed by a Select Committee.
The Congress alleged on Thursday that the new income-tax law helps tax officials have access to e-mail, social media, and bank accounts of all taxpayers, resulting in India becoming a “surveillance state”.
On its official X handle, Congress said,"They spied on us with Pegasus. Now, they'll take away our personal lives altogether. Under (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi's new income tax law, the government is quietly giving tax officials the power to break into your digital life. No warrant, no notice -- mere suspicion is enough to strip you of your privacy. This is surveillance. And we must all oppose it unequivocally."
Congress social media department head Supriya Shrinate said,"Warning: Your email, social media, bank, and trading accounts are under attack. The new income tax law allows tax officials unrestricted access to your emails: read your private conversations; your social media: monitor your posts, messages and interactions; your bank accounts: track every rupee you earn and spend; and your trading accounts: watch your investments and financial moves."
"They need NO proof to do so, just suspicion. A government with unchecked power. The Modi government, which has been misusing agencies to silence critics and crush Opposition will now do this: harass and intimidate citizens, settle political scores by targeting opponents, and weaponise tax department to destroy reputations and lives. This is nothing but surveillance. Will you just stay silent or look the other way?" she added.
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman introduced the Income Tax Bill in Parliament on February 13.
Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla constituted a 31-member Select Committee of Lok Sabha MPs to examine the new Income Tax Bill, which aims to simplify tax laws, modernise definitions, and provide more clarity on various tax-related matters.
Bharatiya Janta Party National Vice President and Lok Sabha MP Baijayant Panda is the chairperson of the Select Committee.
Income Tax Bill
According to Clause 247 of the new income tax bill, tax authorities have the power to “gain access by overriding the access code to any said computer system, or virtual digital space, where the access code thereof is not The
The clause also authorises officer to “break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, almirah, or other receptacle for exercising the powers conferred by clause (i), to enter and search any building, place, etc., where the keys thereof or the access to such building, place, etc., is not available, or gain access by overriding the access code to any said computer system, or virtual digital space, where the access code thereof is not available.”
“This is a warning for everyone as the government will very soon have access to citizens' e-mails, social media accounts, bank accounts, financial transactions, and trading accounts, because the new income-tax law proposes that tax officials should have access to the same,” Shrinate claimed.
“The tax officials can read private conversations, have access to bank accounts and get to know about the amount earned by someone and how the money is spent. They can also have access to people's trading accounts to know about their investments,” she added.
