UNCORROBORATED WHATSAPP CHATS ALONE ARE NOT PROOF OF TAX EVASION

As digital footprints become increasingly central to financial investigations, WhatsApp chats have quietly emerged as one of the most frequently cited forms of evidence in income-tax proceedings.

- NEERAJ AGARWALA &RAKESH NANGIA

Over the past few years, smartphones seized during search operations have yielded screenshots, forwarded messages and fragments of conversations that the tax department believes point toward unreported cash transactions or business income. These chats have been used as evidence to issue notices, justify additions to taxable income, initiate reassessment proceedings and, in several cases, form the basis of protective assessments.

Yet, a series of Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) decisions shows a decisive judicial trend: WhatsApp messages, without independent corroboration, rarely withstand legal scrutiny.