Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has defended the provisions of the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 in Parliament, highlighting the importance of digital surveillance in fighting against financial frauds

During her address, she underlined the growing importance of encrypted messages and other forms of digital data in exposing financial fraud and tax evasion

The minister also revealed that WhatsApp messages and Google Maps history had played a crucial role in detecting unaccounted wealth linked to crypto assets

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has defended the provisions of the new Income Tax Bill, 2025 in Parliament, highlighting the importance of digital surveillance in fighting against financial frauds.

During her address, she underlined the growing importance of encrypted messages and other forms of digital data in exposing financial fraud and tax evasion.

The minister also revealed that WhatsApp messages and Google Maps history had played a crucial role in detecting unaccounted wealth linked to crypto assets.

Sitharaman further said that currently the government uses its authority to access a users’ online personal data in cases where the individual does not cooperate to provide critical information.

Reasoning the necessity of digital data inclusion, she cited multiple instances where social media platforms such as WhatsApp and Instagram, as well as Google Maps have been helping in gathering evidence.

The bill, which has now been passed by the Lok Sabha, introduces significant provisions that legally empower tax authorities to access digital records, effectively aligning tax enforcement mechanisms with rapid technological advancements.

It also includes major reforms designed to simplify tax laws and increase tax rebates for individual taxpayers, set to take effect from April 1, 2025. These changes aim to reduce the burden on taxpayers and enhance overall compliance.

Digital Platforms Helping To Curb Digital Frauds: Sitharaman also revealed that WhatsApp messages were instrumental in uncovering a substantial INR 200 Cr in unaccounted wealth connected to cryptocurrency transactions.

“In cases of prohibition of benami properties, data from Instagram was used to establish the beneficial ownership of expensive vehicles, which helped break the case,” she said.

Meanwhile, data from Google Maps was used to determine the frequented locations of individuals who activated their location history, which assisted in detection of cash and unaccounted transaction hideouts.

Data Privacy Vs Data Access: The IT ministry for long has been chasing social media giants to have the authority and ability to trace messages from their intermediary platforms.

For which, WhatsApp told the Delhi High Court in last April, that it would end its India operations if the platform was forced to break its message encryption.

The tech giant then asserted that tracing users’ messages would undermine the encryption of content and the privacy of the users, while it also violates the fundamental rights of the users guaranteed under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian constitution.

Earlier this year, the electronics and IT ministry (MeitY) released the draft rules for the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, which will be finalised by April, a legislation aimed at safeguarding personal data in an increasingly digital world.

The DPDP Bill, 2023, was initially passed by the Lok Sabha, in August 2023, which aimed to replace the data protection rules that were largely enforced through Section 43A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

Govt’s Crackdown Continues: The Centre has blocked over 7.81 Lakh SIM cards and more than 2.08 Lakh IMEIs (International Mobile Equipment Identity) till February 28, as part of its measures to eliminate digital frauds and cybercrimes.

Union minister of state for home affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar has said that the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) identified and blocked more than 3,962 Skype IDs and 83,668 WhatsApp accounts used for digital arrests.