Only tax evaders should fear invasive tax probes

India's broadly welcome Income Tax bill has raised some concern over digital privacy. We should tighten the operating framework under Section 247 to reassure earnest taxpayers

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When finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced during her 2025-26 Budget speech that the government was planning to overhaul the existing Income Tax Act and introduce a new tax bill, there was a round of applause from all taxpayers. The old Act had become cumbersome, difficult to navigate and abstruse across many parts, leading to differing interpretations and irreconcilable disputes. "The new bill will be clear and direct in text," promised the finance minister, "[… ] close to half of the present law, in terms of both chapters and words." This commitment was roundly welcomed, given the difficulties taxpayers and tax authorities faced in dealing with confusing provisions. The revision's basic aim was to simplify the law's language and retire redundant parts, while retaining the extant tax rates, definitions and framework for offences and penalties.