Section 277 of the Income-tax Act, 1961: False Statement in Verification

Section 277 deals with knowingly false statements made in income-tax verification and false accounts or statements submitted under the law. This guide explains the offence, the revised punishment framework and its relationship with Section 482 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

What is an offence under Section 277?

Section 277 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 addresses a person who makes a false statement in a verification under the Act or rules, or delivers a false account or statement, while knowing or believing it to be false or not believing it to be true.

The principal ingredients are: (1) a verification, account or statement covered by the provision; (2) falsity of the relevant statement; and (3) the specified state of knowledge or belief. A mere mistake does not, by itself, establish the required mental element.

Punishment for false verification

The Income Tax Department's updated prosecution guidance describes the revised punishment bands for Section 277 as follows:

The threshold concerns the tax that would have been evaded if the false account or statement had been accepted as true, not simply the amount of undisclosed income. The precise amendment commencement and transitional position should be considered for an individual case.

Corresponding Section 482 under the Income-tax Act, 2025

The Income-tax Act, 2025 replaced the 1961 Act from 1 April 2026. Section 482 deals with false statements in verification and delivery of false accounts or statements. Read the provision together with subsequent amendments and the applicable commencement and savings rules. The original enacted text of Section 482 contained earlier rigorous-imprisonment bands; updated prosecution guidance reflects the revised penalty framework, so the enacted PDF alone should not be treated as a consolidated statement of current law.

Illustrative situations

• Knowingly false verification: A taxpayer deliberately verifies a materially false figure in a tax filing, while aware that it is false.
• False supporting account: A person submits fabricated accounts to support an income-tax claim and knows the figures are untrue.
• Unintentional error: A genuine clerical mistake, without the required knowledge or belief, is not automatically an offence under this provision, though correction or other tax consequences may arise.

How does Section 277 differ from related provisions?

Section 276C of the 1961 Act concerns wilful attempts to evade tax; Section 277 focuses on false verification, accounts or statements with the required mental element. Section 277A addresses falsification of books or documents to enable another person to evade tax, while Section 278 addresses abetment of false returns or related statements. These provisions may raise different factual and legal questions.

Historical legislative background

The provision was substituted by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1975 with effect from 1 October 1975. The Finance Act, 2012 increased the former higher-tax threshold from Rs. 1 lakh to Rs. 25 lakh and reduced the former maximum sentence in other cases from three years to two years, effective 1 July 2012. The earlier wording prescribed rigorous imprisonment of six months to seven years with fine above Rs. 25 lakh, and three months to two years with fine in other cases. Those historical figures are retained here for legislative context only.

Official legislation and references

• Income Tax Department: Penalties and Prosecutions (updated guidance)
• Income Tax Department: Section 277, Income-tax Act, 1961 (historical text)
• Income Tax Department: Income-tax Act, 2025 (original enacted text)
• Ministry of Finance: commencement of the Income-tax Act, 2025

Updated: 28 October 2026. This article provides general legal information, not advice on a particular prosecution or tax assessment.