Income Tax Law / Powers of Income-tax Authorities

Section 135 of the Income-tax Act: Enquiry Powers of Senior Authorities

Section 135 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 empowered specified senior income-tax authorities to make enquiries and exercise the enquiry-related powers of an Assessing Officer. The corresponding provision under the Income-tax Act, 2025 is Section 256.

Legal position in 2026: The Income-tax Act, 2025 applies from 1 April 2026, subject to its saving and transitional provisions. Section 135 of the 1961 Act remains relevant to matters governed by the earlier law.

What does Section 135 provide?

Section 135 is an enabling provision. It permits designated senior officers to conduct enquiries under the Act, using the powers that an Assessing Officer possesses for making enquiries. It does not, by itself, confer an unlimited power to search premises or seize assets; such actions require their own statutory authority and conditions.

Section 135: Statutory provision

The Principal Director General or Director General or Principal Director or Director, the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner and the Joint Commissioner shall be competent to make any enquiry under this Act, and for this purpose shall have all the powers that an Assessing Officer has under this Act in relation to the making of enquiries.

Read the official Income Tax Department text of Section 135.

Which officers are empowered?

Principal Director General and Director General
Principal Director and Director
Principal Chief Commissioner and Chief Commissioner
Principal Commissioner and Commissioner
Joint Commissioner

The designations in this list reflect the wording of Section 135 of the 1961 Act. The expression Assessing Officer refers to the income-tax authority empowered to carry out assessment functions under the applicable statutory definition and jurisdictional provisions.

Scope and limitations of enquiry powers

The provision allows an authorised senior officer to exercise powers connected with gathering and examining information for a lawful income-tax enquiry. Depending on the statutory context, related provisions include Section 131 (discovery and production of evidence), Section 133 (calling for information) and Section 133A (survey). Each provision has its own conditions and safeguards; Section 135 does not dispense with them.

Section 256 of the Income-tax Act, 2025

The corresponding provision is Section 256, Power of certain income-tax authorities. It continues the principle that the specified competent income-tax authorities may make enquiries and, for that purpose, have the enquiry powers of an Assessing Officer. The Income Tax Department's official section correspondence navigator maps former Section 135 to Section 256. For operative wording and amendments, consult the enacted Act and official notifications.

Practical implications

Taxpayers and companies receiving a lawful enquiry should verify the issuing authority, the provision invoked, the scope of the requested records and the response deadline. Records should be supplied accurately, while questions about jurisdiction, confidentiality and statutory procedure should be assessed under the applicable law.

Legislative background

Section 135 evolved through changes in the nomenclature of tax authorities. The Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987 updated earlier designations with effect from 1 April 1988; the Finance (No. 2) Act, 1998 updated the Joint Commissioner designation with effect from 1 October 1998; and the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2014 introduced principal-level designations with retrospective effect from 1 June 2013. These changes are reflected in the historical statutory text.

Official references

Updated 26 October 2026. This article is general legal information; specific proceedings must be examined against the applicable statute, notifications and facts.