The Income Tax Department on Tuesday conducted a survey operation at the BBC’s offices in Delhi and Mumbai to investigate the alleged tax evasion – just weeks after the broadcaster aired a two-part documentary ‘India: The Modi Question’ on the 2002 Gujarat riots. A Central Board of Direct Taxes official clarified that it is a “survey” and not a “raid”.
So, what’s the difference between survey and searches under the I-T Act?
An Income Tax ‘survey’ is conducted to collect information on hidden or undisclosed income and property. The survey comes under Section 133A and Section 133B of the IT Act, 1961. The survey section allows the IT authority to enter only a business premise and not a residential premise of the assessee. The IT authority can verify cash, books of accounts, documents, stock, and place marks of identification on any books of account or other documents. However, they cannot seize them during the course of the survey.
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IT searches – under Section 132 of the IT Act – include a thorough inspection of buildings, places of business, or residential places in tax evasion cases. According to the official website of the income tax, the searches are conducted when –
– Any person to whom a summons or notice was issued under the IT Act to produce, or cause to be produced, any books of account, or other documents and has omitted or failed to produce, or cause to be produced, such books of account or other documents as required by summons or notice.
– Any person is in possession of any money, jewellery, or other valuable article or thing representing – either wholly or partly income or property – which has not been disclosed for the purposes of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922.
Under the searches and seizure section of the IT Act, the authority can enter and search any building or place that is suspected to have kept books of account, other documents, money, bullion, jewellery, or other valuable article or thing; break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe, other receptacles for exercising the powers; seize any items found as a result of such search; place marks of identification on any books of account or other documents; make a note or an inventory of any items.
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Key points:
– Surveys are a milder form of search operations and their main objective is to find information. Whereas, searches are to find unaccounted wealth and records of such transactions, reported news agency PTI.
– While surveys can be conducted only during business hours, searches can be conducted at any time.
– Surveys can only take place on the business premises, while searches can be conducted at any premises business or residential.
– In cases of non-cooperation, authorities conducting searches can break open any door or window; however, it cannot be done during a survey.
– While searches allow the seizure of unaccounted assets, surveys cannot do the same.