CMA Final · Direct Tax Laws and International Taxation

Survey, Search and Seizure under the Income-tax Act, 2025

Survey, search and seizure are the tax department's information-gathering and enforcement powers. A survey is a visit to business premises to verify records. A search under section 247 lets an authorised officer enter, search and seize assets or documents when there is reason to believe income is undisclosed. Solve questions by testing the trigger, the authority, the power used and the consequence.

What this chapter covers

This chapter covers how the department gathers evidence and acts on it. It begins with survey, which is a lighter power used to inspect a business and its records. It then moves to search and seizure under section 247 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which is far stronger. It rests on the competent authority having reason to believe, in consequence of information in its possession, that books, documents or assets are being withheld or represent undisclosed income.

The core of section 247 is a chain. First, the competent authority holds information and has reason to believe one of two things: a person failed or will fail to produce books or information after a summons or notice, or a person holds assets representing undisclosed income or property. Second, the approving authority authorises an officer. Third, the authorised officer exercises the listed powers: entering and searching premises, requiring technical help and access codes, breaking open locks or overriding access codes, searching persons, marking and copying records, taking an inventory, and seizing books, documents, computer systems or assets other than stock-in-trade.

The chapter ends with what follows a search: how seized items are held or released, the presumptions that apply to what is found, and how undisclosed income is assessed. It connects to the rest of Paper 15 through assessment procedure, penalties, and appeals. Expect case-based questions that ask whether an action was valid and what the consequence is.

Search questions are application-heavy and fit the written section, where you must apply the law to a scenario and reach a conclusion. They also suit MCQs, because section 247 has many precise details: the 60-day limit on a restraint order, the provisional attachment window (during the search or within 60 days from the date the last authorisation was executed), the 60-day window for a valuation reference counted the same way, the six-month validity of attachment, the prior approval needed for attachment, and the statutory presumptions. Students who learn these conditions exactly score reliably, while those who rely on general ideas lose marks on the details.

Survey, Search and Seizure: topics in the order to study them

1Survey: Power and Procedure under Income-tax Act 2025Start with the milder power so you can later see clearly what makes a search stronger.
2Search and Seizure under Section 247This is the core provision, so learn the triggers and the list of powers before anything else.
3Warrant of Authorisation and Reason to BelieveOnce you know the powers, study who authorises them and on what belief, as this is where validity is tested.
4Seized Assets: Retention, Release and PresumptionsThis follows naturally, covering restraint orders, provisional attachment, valuation and what the law presumes about items found.
5Assessment of Undisclosed Income after SearchFinish with the outcome, since assessment builds on everything gathered and presumed during the search.

How to prepare Survey, Search and Seizure

Treat this chapter as a sequence of conditions and time limits. Learn it as a flow from trigger to authorisation to action to consequence.

Write one line contrasting survey and search: purpose, trigger, and whether seizure is allowed.
Learn the two triggers in section 247(1): non-production of books or information, and holding assets that represent undisclosed income or property.
Memorise the seven powers in clauses (i) to (vii) as a checklist, and note that stock-in-trade is inventoried but not seized.
Make a table of time limits: restraint order up to 60 days; provisional attachment during the search or within 60 days from the date the last authorisation was executed, with reasons recorded in writing and prior approval of the Principal Director General, Director General, Principal Director or Director; attachment valid six months from the end of the month of the order; valuation reference during the search or within 60 days from the date the last authorisation was executed; valuation report within 60 days of receipt of the reference.
Learn the five presumptions in section 247(7) and the rule that statements on oath can be used in evidence.
Practise short case scenarios and answer in four parts: trigger, authority, power used, consequence.
Finish by attempting MCQs on exceptions, such as stock-in-trade and jurisdiction under sub-section (2).

Common mistakes in Survey, Search and Seizure

Treating survey and search as the same power.
Fix: Remember that survey verifies records at business premises, while search under section 247 rests on reason to believe based on information in possession and allows seizure.
Saying stock-in-trade can be seized.
Fix: Section 247 lets the officer inventory stock-in-trade but excludes it from seizure.
Mixing up the 60-day limits.
Fix: Tag each: restraint order duration, attachment window, valuation reference window, and valuation report deadline. Attachment validity is separately six months.
Calling a restraint order a seizure.
Fix: A restraint order under sub-section (4)(b) is expressly not seizure, whereas a no-removal order for bulky valuables under (4)(a) is deemed seizure.
Stating the presumptions as conclusive.
Fix: The section says it may be presumed, so the presumption is discretionary, not automatic. It applies to the person found in possession or control. Learn all five: belonging, truth of contents, handwriting and signature, due stamping, execution or attestation, and electronic exchange between the parties.
Answering a case without checking jurisdiction and authority.
Fix: Check first who authorised the action, and whether sub-section (2) or (3) applies where jurisdiction or the premises differ.

Last-day revision: Survey, Search and Seizure

Search under section 247 needs reason to believe based on information in the competent authority's possession.
Trigger one: failure or likely failure to produce books, documents or electronic information after a summons or notice.
Trigger two: possession of an asset or information representing undisclosed income or property.
The approving authority may authorise a Joint Director, Joint Commissioner, Assistant Director, Assistant Commissioner or Income-tax Officer. A Joint Director or Joint Commissioner so authorised may in turn authorise an Assistant Director, Assistant Commissioner or Income-tax Officer. The officer so authorised, in all cases, is the 'authorised officer' who exercises the powers.
Seizure covers books, documents, computer systems and assets, but not stock-in-trade of the business.
Stock-in-trade is noted and inventoried, not seized.
Officers can override access codes and break open locks where keys or access are unavailable.
A restraint order where seizure is not practicable cannot exceed 60 days and is not treated as seizure.
Under section 247(4)(a), where it is not possible or practicable to take physical possession of a valuable article or thing (other than stock-in-trade) and remove it to a safe place because of its volume, weight, other physical characteristics or dangerous nature, the authorised officer may order the owner or person in control not to remove, part with or deal with it without permission. That order is deemed seizure.
Provisional attachment needs reasons recorded in writing and prior approval of the Principal Director General, Director General, Principal Director or Director under section 247(8)(a). It may be made during the search or within 60 days from the date the last authorisation was executed, and is valid for six months from the end of the month of the order.
Valuation reference can be made during the search or within 60 days from the date the last authorisation was executed; the report is due within 60 days of receipt of the reference.
Section 247(7) says it may be presumed, for a person found in possession or control, that: (1) the items belong to that person; (2) the contents are true; (3) signatures and handwriting are genuine; (4) a stamped, executed or attested document was duly stamped, executed or attested by the person it purports to be; and (5) electronic exchange between parties took place as it purports.

Survey, Search and Seizure practice questions

Survey, Search and Seizure in other exams

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

Survey, Search and Seizure: frequently asked questions

What is the difference between survey and search?

A survey is an inspection of business premises to verify records and does not involve seizing assets. A search under section 247 is based on reason to believe, from information in the competent authority's possession, that records are being withheld or income is undisclosed. The officer can enter premises, search persons and seize items.

Can the officer seize stock-in-trade during a search?

No. Under section 247 the officer may note and inventory stock-in-trade, but seizure applies to books, documents, computer systems and assets other than stock-in-trade.

How long can an order restraining dealing with an item last?

Where seizure is not practicable, a restraint order under section 247(4)(b) cannot remain in force for more than sixty days from the date of the order. Serving it is not treated as seizure.

Are statements made during a search usable as evidence?

Yes. The authorised officer may examine a person on oath, and the statement may later be used in evidence in proceedings under the Income-tax Act, 1961 or the 2025 Act. The examination can cover all matters relevant to the investigation, not only the items found.

How much of Paper 15 should I give to this chapter?

This chapter is rule-based, so learn the conditions and limits exactly. Revise it alongside assessment and penalty provisions, as they connect directly.