Section 132A of the Income-tax Act: Powers to Requisition Books, Documents and Assets

Section 132A of the Income-tax Act, 1961 authorised specified income-tax authorities to obtain books of account, documents or assets already held by another authority. From 1 April 2026, the corresponding provision for new requisitions is section 248 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

What is a requisition under section 132A?

A requisition is a statutory direction by an authorised income-tax officer requiring another officer or authority, which has already taken custody of specified books, documents or assets under another law, to deliver them to the Income Tax Department. It differs from a search under section 132: the material is already in the custody of another authority, such as the police or an enforcement agency.

Section 132A(1): When can requisition be authorised?

The competent authority must possess information giving it reason to believe that one of the statutory conditions exists:

Clause (a): Failure to produce records

A person has failed to produce books of account or other documents required by a summons or notice under the specified income-tax provisions, and those records have been taken into custody by an officer or authority under another law.

Clause (b): Likely non-production of relevant records

Books or documents are useful or relevant to income-tax proceedings, and the person concerned is believed unlikely to produce them when the other authority returns them.

Clause (c): Suspected undisclosed assets

Assets taken into custody under another law are believed to represent, wholly or partly, income or property not disclosed, or that would not have been disclosed, for income-tax purposes.

The historical text of section 132A also contains references to summons and notices under the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922. These references remain part of the old statutory formulation but are not ordinary current compliance routes.

Who may authorise a requisition?

Under section 132A(1), the Principal Director General, Director General, Principal Director, Director, Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner or Commissioner could authorise a designated requisitioning officer. The authorised officer categories included Additional or Joint Directors and Commissioners, Assistant or Deputy Directors and Commissioners, and the Income-tax Officer, as provided by the applicable statutory text.

Recorded reasons: The Explanation to section 132A(1), inserted by the Finance Act, 2017 with retrospective effect, states that the recorded reason to believe shall not be disclosed to any person, authority or the Appellate Tribunal. This statutory restriction does not eliminate constitutional judicial review.

Section 132A(2) and (3): Delivery and legal effect

Delivery by the custodian

Under sub-section (2), the officer or authority holding the material must deliver it either forthwith or when that authority considers that it is no longer necessary to retain it. Rule 112D of the Income-tax Rules, 1962 prescribed the requisition procedure, including authorisation in Form 45C and documentation of delivery.

Consequences after delivery

Under sub-section (3), specified provisions of section 132(4A) to (14) and section 132B apply, so far as may be, as if the requisitioned material had been seized under section 132(1). This affects evidentiary presumptions, custody, retention and application or release of assets, subject to the applicable law and facts.

Where the relevant statutory conditions are met, requisition may also trigger the search-related block assessment framework. The precise assessment provisions depend on when the requisition was made and the governing Act.

Current law: Section 248 of the Income-tax Act, 2025

Section 248, titled "Powers to requisition", is the corresponding provision for requisitions governed by the Income-tax Act, 2025. It retains the principal grounds relating to failure or anticipated failure to produce relevant material and suspected undisclosed assets, while expressly covering information in electronic form and computer systems containing such information.

Section 248(1) sets out the conditions and authorisation; section 248(2) deals with delivery by the other authority; and section 248(3) applies specified search, custody and asset-related provisions of the new Act following delivery. Its references include sections 247, 250 and 251. The definition of requisition for block assessment purposes appears in section 301(b).

Transitional rule: Section 536(2)(v) of the 2025 Act preserves the operation of the repealed Act for proceedings connected with a search initiated or requisition made before 1 April 2026. Consequently, the 1961 and 2025 provisions should not be applied interchangeably without checking the date and circumstances.

Practical considerations

• Confirm which authority originally took custody of the documents or assets and under which law.
• Identify the specific clause relied upon and the statutory authorisation.
• Keep records of inventories, delivery, ownership, sources of funds and supporting documentation.
• Check the relevant provisions governing retention, release, application of assets and assessment.
• For requisitions around 1 April 2026, verify the saving provisions before determining the governing Act.

Official legislation and guidance

• Income Tax Department: Section 132A, Income-tax Act, 1961
• Income Tax Department: Income-tax Act, 2025 (official PDF) - see sections 248, 301 and 536.
• Income Tax Department: Search, seizure and requisition guidance
• Income Tax Department: Search and Seizure Manual 2025 - chapter on requisition and Rule 112D.

This article explains the law in general terms and is not a substitute for advice on the facts of a particular case.