Amendment of section 132.
63. In section 132 of the Income-tax Act,––
(a) for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:––
“(2) The authorised officer may requisition the services of––
(i) any police officer or of any officer of the Central Government, or of both; or
(ii) any person or entity as may be approved by the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Chief Commissioner or the Principal Director General or the Director General, in accordance with the procedure, as may be prescribed, in this regard,
to assist him for all or any of the purposes specified in sub-section (1) or sub-section (1A) and it shall be the duty of every such officer or person or entity to comply with such requisition.”;
(b) for sub-section (9D), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:––
“(9D) The authorised officer may, during the course of the search or seizure or within a period of sixty days from the date on which the last of the authorisations for search was executed, make a reference to,––
(i) a Valuation Officer referred to in section 142A; or
(ii) any other person or entity or any valuer registered by or under any law for the time being in force, as may be approved by the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Chief Commissioner or the Principal Director General or the Director General, in accordance with the procedure, as may be prescribed, in this regard,
who shall estimate the fair market value of the property in the manner as may be prescribed, and submit a report of the estimate to the authorised officer or the Assessing Officer, as the case may be, within a period of sixty days from the date of receipt of such reference.”;
(c) for Explanation 1, the following Explanation shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2022, namely:––
‘Explanation 1.––For the purposes of sub-sections (9A), (9B) and (9D), the last of authorisation for search shall be deemed to have been executed,––
(a) in the case of search, on the conclusion of search as recorded in the last panchnama drawn in relation to any person in whose case the warrant of authorisation has been issued; or
(b) in the case of requisition under section 132A, on the actual receipt of the books of account or other documents or assets by the authorised officer.’.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 63 of the Bill seeks to amend section 132 of the Income-tax Act relating to search and seizure.
Sub-section (2) of said section provides that during the course of search, the authorised officer may requisition the services of any police officer or any officer of the Central Government to assist him for any of the action required to be performed during the course of such search and it shall be duty of such officer to comply.
It is proposed to substitute sub-section (2) of the said section so as to provide that the authorised officer, during the course of search, may requisition the services of any police officer or of any officer of the Central Government, or of both, or other person or entity, as approved by the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Chief Commissioner, the Principal Director General or the Director General, in accordance with the procedure as may be provided by rules by the Board in this regard, to assist him for the purposes of the search and it shall be the duty of such officer or person or entity to comply with such requisition.
Sub-section (9D) of said section provides that the authorised officer may take a reference to a valuation officer for estimating the fair market value of the property and such reference can be made during the search or within sixty days from the date of executing the last authorisation for search.
It is further proposed to substitute sub-section (9D) of the said section to provide that, the authorised officer, during the course of a search or within sixty days from the date of the last authorisation, may make a reference to a Valuation Officer referred to in section 142A or any other person or entity or any valuer registered by or under any law for the time being in force, as may be approved by the Principal Chief Commissioner, the Chief Commissioner, the Principal Director General or the Director General, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Board in this regard, who shall estimate the fair market value of the property in the manner as may be provided by rules, and submit a report of the estimate to the authorised officer or the Assessing Officer, as the case may be, within sixty days from the receipt of such reference.
These amendments will come into effect from 1st April, 2023.
It is also proposed to substitute Explanation 1 to the said section, so as to provide that for the purposes of sub-sections (9A), (9B) and (9D), execution of an authorisation for search shall be deemed to have been executed, in the case of search, on the conclusion of search as recorded in the last panchnama drawn in relation to any person in whose case the warrant of authorisation has been issued; and in the case of requisition under section 132A, on the actual receipt of the books of account or other documents or assets by the authorised officer.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from 1st April, 2022.
