Chapter XXII of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Offences and Prosecutions

What this chapter does

Sections 473 to 488 carry the offences: contravention of a search order, removal or concealment of property to defeat recovery, failure to pay tax deducted or collected, wilful attempt to evade tax, failure to furnish returns, false statements, falsification of books and abetment, with separate provisions for companies and Hindu undivided families. Sections 489 to 498 carry the machinery: presumptions, sanction for prosecution, Special Courts and the application of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023.

What to watch

• Section 490 presumes a culpable mental state, so the burden in a prosecution does not sit where a taxpayer expects it to.
• Prosecution under section 491 needs sanction at a named level; the absence of valid sanction is a threshold objection.

The sections in this chapter

• Section 473 — Contravention of order made under section 247
• Section 474 — Failure to comply with section 247(1)(ii)
• Section 475 — Removal, concealment, transfer or delivery of property to prevent tax recovery
• Section 476 — Failure to pay tax to credit of Central Government under Chapter XIX-B
• Section 477 — Failure to pay tax collected at source
• Section 478 — Wilful attempt to evade tax, etc
• Section 479 — Failure to furnish returns of income
• Section 480 — Failure to furnish return of income in search cases
• Section 481 — Failure to produce accounts and documents
• Section 482 — False statement in verification, etc
• Section 483 — Falsification of books of account or document, etc
• Section 484 — Abetment of false return, etc
• Section 485 — Punishment for second and subsequent offences
• Section 486 — Punishment not to be imposed in certain cases
• Section 487 — Offences by companies
• Section 488 — Offences by Hindu undivided family
• Section 489 — Presumption as to assets, books of account, etc , in certain cases
• Section 490 — Presumption as to culpable mental state
• Section 491 — Prosecution to be at instance of Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner
• Section 492 — Certain offences to be non-cognizable
• Section 493 — Proof of entries in records or documents
• Section 494 — Disclosure of particulars by public servants
• Section 495 — Special Courts
• Section 496 — Offences triable by Special Court
• Section 497 — Trial of offences as summons case
• Section 498 — Application of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 to proceedings before Special Court