Chapter XIV of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Tax Administration

What this chapter does

Sections 236 to 245 appoint the authorities, fix jurisdiction and provide for faceless jurisdiction and the Taxpayer's Charter. Sections 246 to 251 carry the coercive powers: discovery and production of evidence, search and seizure, requisition, and the handling of what is seized. Sections 252 to 260 carry the information-gathering powers, including survey under section 253 and faceless collection of information under section 260.

What to watch

• Section 249 keeps the reasons for a search out of the assessee's hands; the challenge is almost never to the reasons themselves.
• A survey under section 253 is not a search, and the consequences that follow a search do not follow a survey.

The sections in this chapter

• Section 236 — Income-tax authorities
• Section 237 — Appointment of income-tax authorities
• Section 238 — Control of income-tax authorities
• Section 239 — Instructions to subordinate authorities
• Section 240 — Taxpayer's Charter
• Section 241 — Jurisdiction of income-tax authorities
• Section 242 — Jurisdiction of Assessing Officers
• Section 243 — Power to transfer cases
• Section 244 — Change of incumbent of an office
• Section 245 — Faceless jurisdiction of income-tax authorities
• Section 246 — Power regarding discovery, production of evidence, etc
• Section 247 — Search and seizure
• Section 248 — Powers to requisition
• Section 249 — Reasons not to be disclosed
• Section 250 — Application of seized or requisitioned assets
• Section 251 — Copying, extraction, retention and release of books of account and documents seized or requisitioned
• Section 252 — Power to call for information
• Section 253 — Powers of survey
• Section 254 — Power to collect certain information
• Section 255 — Power to inspect registers of companies
• Section 256 — Power of certain income-tax authorities
• Section 257 — Proceedings before income-tax authorities to be judicial proceedings
• Section 258 — Disclosure of information relating to assessees
• Section 259 — Power to call for information by prescribed income-tax authority
• Section 260 — Faceless collection of information
• Section 261 — Interpretation