Chapter XIV of the Income-tax Act, 2025 runs from section 236 to section 261 and covers tax administration. Its 26 sections replace 23 sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This guide gives the complete section-by-section mapping between the two Acts.
What Chapter XIV covers
Chapter XIV sets up the tax administration — who the income-tax authorities are, what jurisdiction they have, and what powers they can exercise, including search, seizure and survey.
Chapter XIV contains 26 sections (sections 236 to 261). Between them they carry forward the substance of 23 sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 received Presidential assent on 21 August 2025 and takes effect from 1 April 2026. The Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern every tax year up to 31 March 2026, and all assessments, appeals, penalties and prosecutions relating to those years are completed under the old Act by virtue of the repeal and savings provision in section 536. The mapping on this page is drawn from the section-wise concordance published with the Act, including the corrigenda notified in the Gazette on 3 September 2025.
What changed in Chapter XIV
- Section 240 carries the Taxpayer's Charter (old section 119A).
- Search and seizure is section 247 (old section 132) and survey is section 253 (old section 133A) — two numbers worth memorising, because the offence and penalty sections cross-refer to them.
- Section 245 carries faceless jurisdiction (old section 130) and section 260 carries faceless collection of information (old section 135A).
- Sections 249 and 251 draw on both sections 132 and 132A, covering non-disclosure of reasons and the copying, retention and release of seized material.
Chapter XIV: complete section mapping (2025 → 1961)
Every section of Chapter XIV is listed below with the section or sections of the Income-tax Act, 1961 that it corresponds to. Where a section is marked as read with a Schedule, the operative detail sits in that Schedule rather than in the section itself.
| New section (2025) | Provision | Corresponding 1961 section(s) |
|---|---|---|
| 236 | Income-tax authorities | 116 |
| 237 | Appointment of income-tax authorities | 117 |
| 238 | Control of income-tax authorities | 118 |
| 239 | Instructions to subordinate authorities | 119 |
| 240 | Taxpayer’s Charter | 119A |
| 241 | Jurisdiction of income-tax authorities | 120 |
| 242 | Jurisdiction of Assessing Officers | 124 |
| 243 | Power to transfer cases | 127 |
| 244 | Change of incumbent of an office | 129 |
| 245 | Faceless jurisdiction of income-tax authorities | 130 |
| 246 | Power regarding discovery, production of evidence, etc | 131 |
| 247 | Search and seizure | 132 |
| 248 | Powers to requisition | 132A |
| 249 | Reasons not to be disclosed | 132, 132A |
| 250 | Application of seized or requisitioned assets | 132B |
| 251 | Copying, extraction, retention and release of books of account and documents seized or requisitioned | 132, 132A |
| 252 | Power to call for information | 133 |
| 253 | Powers of survey | 133A |
| 254 | Power to collect certain information | 133B |
| 255 | Power to inspect registers of companies | 134 |
| 256 | Power of certain income-tax authorities | 135 |
| 257 | Proceedings before income-tax authorities to be judicial proceedings | 136 |
| 258 | Disclosure of information relating to assessees | 138 |
| 259 | Power to call for information by prescribed income- tax authority | 133C |
| 260 | Faceless collection of information | 135A |
| 261 | Interpretation | 131, 135 |
How to use this mapping
- Working on a year up to 2025-26? Use the 1961 section in the right-hand column. The old Act governs those years under section 536.
- Working on tax year 2026-27 onwards? Use the new section number in the left-hand column, and read the section text rather than assuming the old provision was copied verbatim.
- Drafting a reply or an appeal? Cite the section that applies to the year in dispute, not the section in force when you are writing.
- Updating templates and software? Sections that merged — shown where one new section maps to several old ones — need the most attention, because a single new provision now carries what were separate conditions.
This page is a structural mapping guide, not tax advice. A corresponding section is not always an identical section — several provisions were merged, split or re-worded when they were carried over. Always read the actual text of the new section before relying on it, and check for later amendments, rules and CBDT notifications.