« Top Headlines » Open DEMAT Account in 24 hrs  Delhi HC Rules GST Registration Cannot Be Cancelled Retrospectively Without a Clear Show Cause Notice (SCN)  Belated income tax return AY 2026-27: How to file, late filing charges and what you may lose  Major Financial Changes from August 1, 2026: ITR Deadline, RBI MPC Meeting, Tatkal Ticket Rules & More  Government proposes to ease tax relief conditions for offshore funds  TallyPrime Connected Banking: Automating Banking and Accounting  ITR Filing Deadline 2026: Is July 31 the Last Date to File Your Income Tax Return? Latest Official Update  ITR filing deadline nears: How to file income tax return online on e-filing portal - quick 15-step guide  Will the ITR Filing Deadline Be Extended Beyond July 31 for FY 2025-26? Here's the Latest Update for Taxpayers  Income Tax Refund Delayed for AY 2026-27? 5 Common Reasons Your Refund May Be Stuck and How to Fix It  ITR Filing 2026: FM Nirmala Sitharaman Asks Tax Officials to Let Honest Taxpayers Correct Genuine Mistakes  Will Your FCNR Deposit Stay Tax-Free After Returning to India? Tax Rules Explained for NRIs «  Govt may farm tax carrots to lure corporates to fields... Half-baked Esops won't escape FBT... » Taxman takes to tech in search operations May, 10th 2007 Tax evaders who hide their transactions behind IT (information technology) firewalls will now find it more difficult to do so. The income-tax department is working on ways to crack IT shields of tax evaders. One of the key measures planned is to include computer experts in survey teams that swoop down on suspected evaders. The department is also in the process of setting up forensic laboratory which would be equipped to deal with computer evidence. In a large number of cases where surveys or searches are carried out, the income tax authorities have to deal with evidence in electronic form. Officers who carry out surveys may not necessarily be equipped to decipher electronic evidence but now with the help of experts, they would be able to, an official said. The department has reworked survey guidelines to keep pace with increasing deployment of IT tools by evaders, the official added. Under the new survey guidelines, income-tax sleuths who undertake surveys would be assisted by computer experts at hand to deal with digital data and IT equipment. Income-tax survey teams have the authority to enter business premises to inspect books of accounts, cash, stock, other valuables, and place marks of identification on these items. Survey is done by the jurisdictional assessing officer or the investigation wing of the department. Survey officers are not entitled to enter the residential premises of assessees. The department can also carry out survey of expenditure incurred by an assessee in connection with a function, ceremony or event like marriage. The survey guidelines have been reworked after about 20 years. Under the new guidelines, taxmen would also not be able to impound stocks of a taxpayer. Taxmen will be able to impound only the books of accounts.