Section 253 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 empowers an income-tax authority to enter any place where a business, profession or charitable activity is carried on, require technical assistance including access codes to inspect electronic records, and verify assets and stock.
What section 253 does
Section 253 is survey — the successor to section 133A of the Income-tax Act, 1961. It is a lesser power than search under section 247, but it is used far more often, and it now carries the same digital reach.
The authority may enter any place at which a business or profession, or activity for charitable purpose, is carried on — whether or not it is the principal place — provided the place is within the area assigned to the authority, is occupied by a person over whom it exercises jurisdiction, or the authority is authorised for it.
On entry, the authority may require any proprietor, trustee, employee or other person attending to or helping in the activity to (i) provide technical and other assistance including the access code to enable inspection of electronic records; (ii) facilitate checking or verification of assets and stock; and (iii) furnish information useful or relevant to any proceeding.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 takes effect from 1 April 2026 and applies from tax year 2026-27. The Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern every year up to 31 March 2026, including assessments, appeals and penalties for those years, because of the repeal and savings provision in section 536. Figures quoted here are the amounts written into the Act as enacted (with the Gazette corrigenda of 3 September 2025); the annual Finance Act can change rates and thresholds.
Old Act and new Act, side by side
The table below shows what the Income-tax Act, 1961 did and where the same ground is covered in the Income-tax Act, 2025.
| Income-tax Act, 1961 | What it did | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 133A(1) | Entry into business or professional premises | 253(1) |
| 133A(1), Explanation | Places where books or cash are stated to be kept | 253(2) |
| 133A(1)(ia) | Technical assistance and access code | 253(1)(i) |
| 133A(2) and (3) | Verification of stock and assets, and further powers | 253(1)(ii) and later sub-sections |
| 133A(6) | Restrictions on the authority | 253 (later sub-sections) |
| 132 | Search and seizure | 247 |
| 133 | Power to call for information | 252 |
Section 253 sub-section by sub-section
Read this alongside the bare text — each heading below is a sub-section of the section as enacted.
Sub-section (1) — where the authority may enter
Irrespective of anything in any other provision, an income-tax authority may enter any place at which a business or profession, or activity for charitable purpose, is carried on, whether or not it is the principal place, where the place (a) is within the limits of the area assigned to the authority; (b) is occupied by a person over whom the authority exercises jurisdiction; or (c) the authority is authorised for the purposes of this section by the authority assigned that area or exercising jurisdiction over the occupant.
Clause (1)(i) — access codes at survey
The authority may require any person attending to or helping in the activity to provide the necessary technical and other assistance, including the access code, to enable inspection of books, documents or information in electronic form or on a computer system available at that place. Survey therefore reaches digital records, not only physical registers.
Clauses (1)(ii) and (iii) — stock verification and information
The authority may require the person to provide the facility to check or verify the asset or stock found at the place, and to furnish such information as the authority requires on any matter useful for or relevant to any proceeding under the Act. Physical stock verification remains the most common survey activity.
Sub-section (2) — premises where records are said to be kept
A place where a business, profession or charitable activity is carried on also includes any other place, whether or not any such activity is carried on there, in which the person states that any of his books of account, other documents, or any part of his cash or other assets are kept. A statement that records are at a residence or a godown brings that place within the survey.
How survey differs from search
Survey under section 253 is an entry and inspection power exercisable at a place of business during business hours; search under section 247 is a far wider power that permits entry into residences, breaking open locks, personal search and seizure. The remaining sub-sections of section 253 set out the restrictions on the authority — read them before assuming any particular action is permitted at a survey.
Consequences that follow a survey
Material gathered at survey commonly leads to an assessment under section 270 or a reassessment under section 279. Importantly, section 120 bars the set off of losses against undisclosed income found in the course of a survey, just as it does for search and requisition.
Worked example
A survey is conducted at a trading firm's shop in tax year 2026-27.
| Action | Permitted under section 253? | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| Entry into the shop during business hours | Yes | Sub-section (1) |
| Requiring the login credentials for the cloud billing software | Yes | Clause (1)(i) — access code |
| Physical verification of stock against the stock register | Yes | Clause (1)(ii) |
| Entry into the proprietor's godown, after he states the stock records are kept there | Yes | Sub-section (2) |
| Recording a statement on matters relevant to proceedings | Yes | Clause (1)(iii) |
| Breaking open a locked safe | No — that is a search power | Section 247(1)(iii) |
The fourth row is the practical trap. A casual statement that the books are at another premises extends the survey to that premises under sub-section (2), whether or not any business is carried on there.
Where excess stock or unexplained assets are found, the consequences flow through assessment under section 270 or reassessment under section 279 — and section 120 prevents brought-forward losses from being set against that undisclosed income.
Compliance checklist and due dates
- Verify the authority's jurisdiction or authorisation for that place under sub-section (1)(a) to (c).
- Provide access codes and technical assistance when required — clause (1)(i) makes it a statutory obligation.
- Keep the stock register reconciled and current; clause (1)(ii) permits verification at any time.
- Be careful about statements as to where records or cash are kept — sub-section (2) extends the survey to those premises.
- Note that survey does not permit breaking open locks or personal search; those are search powers under section 247.
- Read the remaining sub-sections for the restrictions on the authority before conceding any particular action.
- Remember section 120 bars set off of losses against undisclosed income found at survey.
Common mistakes
- Assuming survey cannot reach electronic or cloud-hosted records.
- Volunteering that books or cash are kept at another address without appreciating the effect of sub-section (2).
- Treating survey and search as the same power; the restrictions differ materially.
- Expecting brought-forward losses to absorb income surrendered at survey — section 120 prevents it.
This is an explanatory guide, not tax advice, and it does not reproduce the section in full. Read the bare text of the section before you rely on it, and check for later amendments, the Income-tax Rules made under the new Act, and CBDT circulars and notifications.