Lok Sabha passes revamped Income Tax Bill, expanding search powers of officials:

On 11 August 2025, the Lok Sabha passed the revised Income Tax Bill, 2025 without any debate. The legislation aims to simplify, rationalise, and shorten the provisions of the Income Tax Act, 1961, while also significantly expanding the powers of income tax officials — including the authority to forcibly access personal emails and social media accounts of assessees during search operations. The earlier version of the Bill, introduced in February by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, was reviewed by a Select Committee chaired by Baijayant Panda. Following the committee’s recommendations submitted on July 21, the government withdrew the Bill on August 8 and introduced the revised version.