CBDT gears up against tax evaders, gives free hand to Income Tax Department

CBDT has directed the Income Tax Department to intensify the campaign against black money and tax evasion. The Income Tax Department has been ordered to carry out major search and seizure operations by July 31.

New Delhi. The Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) has directed the regional offices of the Income Tax Department to intensify the campaign against black money and tax evasion. Make a time-bound strategy to bring unreported and under-reported businesses into the tax net. The CBDT has asked each jurisdiction of the Income Tax Department to conduct at least one major search and seizure action by July 31. Apart from this, there are instructions to conduct at least two additional search and seizure actions between August 2025 and March 2026.

According to media reports, the CBDT expects to detect undisclosed income of Rs 2.4 lakh crore during the current financial year. According to a report by NDTV Profit, the board has directed that 60 per cent of the total target should be achieved through intrusive initiatives such as searches and raids, while 40 per cent should come from non-intrusive investigations, including data analysis and financial intelligence information. This new move is part of a comprehensive plan to bring under the tax net many errant businesses that have been evading the eyes of tax authorities due to limited availability of data and boost the country’s revenue collection.

Special focus on these sectors

As part of this strategy, the CBDT has directed the investigation wing of the Income Tax Department to prepare focused, data-backed reports on sectors that are prone to tax evasion and where adequate information has not been disclosed.

According to the report, these sectors can be spread across manufacturing, services, mining, liquor trade, international trade, hawala, healthcare, scrap dealing and other unregulated domains. The CBDT said that there is an urgent need to study those sectors where the amount of unreported and under-reported activity is high.

Direct tax collection increased

According to the latest data from the Finance Ministry, India’s direct tax collection for the financial year 2024-25 has exceeded its target. The provisional net direct tax collection reached Rs 11,82,875 crore, showing an increase of 17 percent compared to the previous financial year.

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