Direct Tax Laws & International Taxation · Provisions to Counteract Unethical Tax Practices

Disclosure of Information Relating to Assessees (Income-tax Act, 2025)

Updated 5 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Information an assessee gives to the tax department is confidential. Returns, statements, accounts, evidence and assessment records are not open to the public. The Act allows disclosure only in listed cases, such as sharing with other tax, duty or foreign-exchange authorities, or when the Central Government finds public interest. To solve a question, identify the recipient, the purpose and who authorises the disclosure.

Understand Disclosure of Information Relating to Assessees

The tax department collects very sensitive information: returns, accounts, bank details, statements recorded on oath. The law treats this as confidential. The idea is simple. People will give honest information only if they trust that it will not be passed around.

So the Act sets a general rule of confidentiality. Particulars in returns, statements, accounts, documents, evidence, affidavits and assessment records are not open to public inspection. Officers cannot share them as they please. A private person, a journalist or a competitor cannot demand them.

The Act then carves out exceptions. The department works with other government bodies, so it must be able to share information with them. The main exceptions are: sharing with authorities that administer other taxes, duties or cess, or foreign-exchange laws; sharing with other authorities that the Central Government specifies by notification in the public interest; and disclosure ordered by the Central Government where it considers it necessary in the public interest. Information may also pass to foreign tax authorities under a treaty or agreement on exchange of information.

The pattern to remember is: bar first, exception next, with a named authority and a purpose. Disclosure is allowed only to the right recipient, for the right reason, on the decision of the right authority (the Board, a specified income-tax authority, or the Central Government). Check the exact wording of the Act's text for the authority named in each limb before you quote it.

This topic sits inside the chapter on counteracting unethical tax practices because sharing information between agencies helps detect evasion. The confidentiality rule balances that against the assessee's privacy.

Key rules to remember

General rule: Assessee particulars (returns, statements, accounts, evidence, assessment records) = confidential; not open to public inspection; Start every answer with this bar. Disclosure is the exception, not the rule.
Disclosure to other tax, duty or foreign-exchange authorities: Board / specified income-tax authority → officer or body under a law on tax, duty, cess or foreign exchange, if the information is necessary for that body's functions; The test is necessity for the recipient's functions, judged by the Board or the specified authority.
Disclosure to other authorities in public interest: Central Government notification specifies the authority under another law → information may be furnished; The authority must be specified by notification. The Central Government must consider it necessary in the public interest.
Disclosure of particulars in public interest: Central Government order, on its opinion that public interest requires it → particulars may be disclosed; Public interest is the ground. The decision rests with the Central Government, not with a junior officer.
Exchange with foreign authorities: Treaty or agreement on exchange of information → information shared as the agreement provides; Link this to the exchange of information articles of tax treaties.

How to solve Disclosure of Information Relating to Assessees questions

Use the same sequence for any case question on disclosure of assessee information. It keeps your answer in provision-facts-conclusion form.

1State the general rule in one line: particulars given by or about an assessee under the Act are confidential and not open to public inspection.
2Identify who is asking for the information or who is proposed to receive it: a private person, another tax or duty authority, a foreign-exchange authority, another government body, or a foreign authority.
3Identify the purpose: functions under another law, public interest, audit, or treaty exchange.
4Match the recipient and purpose to an exception. Ask whether a notification or an order of the Central Government is needed.
5Check who has authorised the disclosure: the Board, a specified income-tax authority, or the Central Government. Check whether the facts show that authority acting.
6Apply the necessity or public-interest condition to the facts given.
7Conclude clearly: disclosure permitted or not permitted, with the reason in one sentence.

Quickest way: Three-question filter: Who, Why, By whom

When to use it: Use it for short MCQs and for scenario questions with limited time.

Who is the recipient? A private person means no. A government tax, duty or foreign-exchange body means likely yes.
Why is it needed? It must be necessary for the recipient's statutory functions, or a public interest ground.
By whom is it authorised? The Board or specified authority for sharing with other tax bodies; the Central Government for public interest and notified authorities.
If all three answers fit an exception, write permitted. Otherwise write not permitted because of the general bar.

Common mistakes in Disclosure of Information Relating to Assessees

Saying any government department can get assessee information on request.
Students assume that government bodies freely share data.
Fix: Only authorities covered by the exceptions can receive it. For authorities under other laws, the Central Government must specify them by notification and consider it necessary in the public interest.
Treating the confidentiality rule as absolute.
Students remember only the bar and forget the exceptions.
Fix: Always write the rule and then the exceptions. The topic is about both.
Forgetting who authorises the disclosure.
Students focus on the recipient and ignore the authority.
Fix: Name the decision-maker in every answer: the Board or specified authority, or the Central Government.
Confusing disclosure under this provision with an assessee's own right to documents in appeal or assessment.
Both concern access to information.
Fix: This topic is about the department sharing information with others or with the public. Procedural access during proceedings is a different matter.
Quoting a section number or an old Act reference from memory.
Students mix the 1961 Act numbering with the 2025 Act.
Fix: Use the 2025 Act's terms such as tax year. Quote a section number only if you are certain of it in the 2025 Act; otherwise describe the provision in words.
Ignoring the public interest condition.
Students write that disclosure is allowed whenever the government wants it.
Fix: Write that the Central Government must be of the opinion that disclosure is necessary in the public interest.

Worked examples

Example 1

Ravi Traders filed its return for the tax year 2026-27. A State GST officer, investigating a claim of input tax credit by a supplier linked to Ravi Traders, asks the Income-tax Department for particulars of Ravi Traders' turnover from the return. Can the department share them?

Show the solution

Rule: particulars in a return are confidential and not open to public inspection.
Recipient: a State GST officer. GST is a tax, so this officer performs functions under a law relating to a tax.
Purpose: verifying the credit claim is part of that officer's statutory functions.
Authority: the Board or the specified income-tax authority must form the opinion that the information is necessary for those functions.
Conclusion: disclosure is permitted if the Board or specified authority is of that opinion. The bar on disclosure does not stop sharing with a tax authority under another law.

Answer: Yes. The department may furnish the turnover particulars to the GST officer, provided the Board or the specified income-tax authority considers the information necessary for the officer's functions.

Example 2

A business journalist writes to the Assessing Officer asking for a copy of the assessment record of Meera Pvt. Ltd. to publish a story on its tax affairs. No notification or Central Government order exists. Can the officer give it?

Show the solution

Rule: assessment records and particulars in returns are confidential and not open to public inspection.
Recipient: a private person, not a tax, duty or foreign-exchange authority. No notification specifies any authority here.
Purpose: publication of a news story is not a function of any authority under a law.
Authority: no Central Government order for disclosure in the public interest has been made.
Conclusion: none of the exceptions applies, so the general bar stands.

Answer: No. The officer cannot give the record. It is not open to public inspection, and no exception applies unless the Central Government orders disclosure in the public interest.

Exam tips

Write the rule first and the exceptions second. Examiners reward that order.
Always name the recipient and the authority that permits disclosure. Marks are given for both.
In scenario MCQs, check the recipient first. A private person almost always means not permitted.
Link the topic to exchange of information under tax treaties when the facts involve a foreign authority.
Do not quote a section number you are unsure of. A clear description of the provision in words is safer.

Practice questions from Provisions to Counteract Unethical Tax Practices

Disclosure of Information Relating to Assessees in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

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Disclosure of Information Relating to Assessees: frequently asked questions

What is the disclosure of information relating to assessees under the Income-tax Act, 2025?

It is the rule that keeps particulars given by or about an assessee confidential. The Act allows disclosure only in specified cases, such as sharing with other tax, duty or foreign-exchange authorities or in the public interest.

When can the Income-tax Department disclose assessee information?

It can do so to authorities administering other taxes, duties, cess or foreign-exchange laws when the information is necessary for their functions. It can also do so to other specified authorities, or by Central Government order, in the public interest.

Who decides whether information can be shared?

For sharing with other tax and duty authorities, the Board or an income-tax authority specified by it forms the opinion. For notified authorities and public interest disclosure, the Central Government decides.

Is assessment information open to public inspection?

No. Returns, statements, accounts, evidence and assessment records are not open to public inspection. A private person cannot demand them.