Section 66 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 66 allows the Director, or another authority he specifies, to pass on information obtained under the Act to officers and bodies working under tax, duty, cess, foreign exchange and narcotics laws, and to others that the Central Government notifies in the public interest. Since 2018 it also requires information to be shared when the Director thinks another law has been contravened.
This article reads the section as per the consolidated text of the Act consulted (amendments shown up to 1 August 2019). Later amendments and notifications should be checked. Anyone whose records may travel from one agency to another can take legal consultation on what the section does and does not say.
The Director, or any other authority he specifies by a general or special order, may furnish information received or obtained in performing functions under the Act to (i) officers, authorities or bodies under laws on tax, duty or cess, dealings in foreign exchange, or prevention of illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, and (ii) other bodies the Central Government notifies in the public interest. The information must be what the Director or authority thinks necessary for the recipient to perform its functions. Under sub-section (2), where the Director or authority forms the opinion that another law is contravened, he shall share the information with the concerned agency.
Where the section sits and how it is built
Section 66 is in Chapter X (Miscellaneous). The footnotes show that the section was numbered as sub-section (1) by Act 13 of 2018, s. 208 (w.e.f. 19-4-2018), and that sub-section (2) was inserted by the same Act. So the section has one permissive sub-section and, since that amendment, one mandatory sub-section.
| Sub-section | Verb | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | "may furnish or cause to be furnished" | Permission to share information needed by another body for its functions |
| (2) | "shall share the information" | Duty to share where another law appears contravened |
Sub-section (1): who may share, with whom
Who may share
"The Director or any other authority specified by him by a general or special order in this behalf." So the Director can share himself, and he can specify other authorities (see section 48 on classes of authorities, in our article on sections 48-49 and 51-53) to do so by general or special order. The orders themselves are not in the text.
With whom
| Clause | Recipient as printed |
|---|---|
| (i) | Any officer, authority or body performing any functions under any law relating to imposition of any tax, duty or cess, or to dealings in foreign exchange, or prevention of illicit traffic in the narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 (61 of 1985) |
| (ii) | Such other officer, authority or body performing functions under any other law as the Central Government may, if in its opinion it is necessary so to do in the public interest, specify, by notification in the Official Gazette, in this behalf |
Clause (i) is self-operating: a body falls within it if it performs functions under a law of the kinds listed. Clause (ii) needs a notification. This text does not contain any notification, so nothing here says which bodies have been specified. The Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act, 1985 is named as printed; check the current law for the corresponding provision.
What may be shared
"Any information received or obtained by such Director or any other authority, specified by him in the performance of their functions under this Act, as may, in the opinion of the Director or the other authority, so specified by him, be necessary for the purpose of the officer, authority or body specified in clause (i) or clause (ii) to perform his or its functions under that law."
Break the formula into parts:
- Source. Information received or obtained in performing functions under the Act.
- Limit. Only information that is "necessary for the purpose" of the recipient performing functions under its own law.
- Judge of necessity. The opinion of the Director or the specified authority.
The section is therefore not an open licence to hand over entire files; the test is necessity for the recipient's functions, measured by the opinion of the officer who shares. The text sets no further procedure, notice to the person concerned or record-keeping rule.
Sub-section (2): sharing where another law is contravened
If the Director or other authority specified under sub-section (1) is of the opinion, on the basis of information or material in his possession, that the provisions of any other law for the time being in force are contravened, then the Director or such other authority shall share the information with the concerned agency for necessary action.
Compared with sub-section (1):
- It is not limited to the categories in clauses (i) and (ii); it speaks of "any other law" and "the concerned agency".
- It depends on an opinion formed "on the basis of information or material in his possession".
- It uses "shall", so once the opinion is formed, sharing is a duty.
- The "necessary for the recipient's functions" test of sub-section (1) is not repeated here; the purpose is "necessary action".
The text does not say which agency is "concerned", leaving that to the facts of the case.
What the section does not say
- It does not mention the Financial Intelligence Unit or any reporting format, and this article adds no practice from outside the text.
- It does not say that the person whose information is shared must be told.
- It does not say how the information is to be used by the recipient.
- It prints no penalty for wrongful disclosure or for failure to share.
- It does not say that information shared is admissible in the recipient's proceedings.
Where sections elsewhere in the Act deal with confidentiality of records (for example, section 12 on reporting entities), they are explained separately in our article on section 12.
A worked example
An authority, inquiring into a trading company (invented, "Varun Overseas Pvt Ltd"), obtains bank records showing large remittances that appear unrelated to any declared business. The Director forms the opinion that the information is necessary for a body performing functions under a foreign exchange law to do its job. Under sub-section (1)(i) he may furnish the relevant information to it. Suppose, in the same inquiry, he finds from his material that a provision of some other law has been contravened. Sub-section (2) now requires him to share that information with the concerned agency for necessary action.
For a business, the practical point is that information given in one inquiry may reach other regulators. Companies should keep their explanations consistent across tax, customs, foreign exchange and any other filing. For tax-law consequences, see our income-tax guides; for the foreign exchange side, see our guide to Enforcement Directorate and FEMA powers, which is about that other Act.
Need help understanding how your information may be shared?
If you are responding to an inquiry and want to understand where the information you give may travel, the safest course is to look at the section, the order under which the authority acts and the notifications that apply. Our team supports clients through legal consultation, starting from the documents you have received.
Key takeaways
- The Director, or another authority he specifies by general or special order, may furnish information obtained under the Act to the bodies the section describes.
- Clause (i) covers tax, duty, cess, foreign exchange and narcotics-law bodies; clause (ii) covers other bodies notified by the Central Government in the public interest.
- The information shared must be what the Director or authority considers necessary for the recipient's functions.
- Sub-section (2) makes sharing a duty ("shall") where another law is believed to be contravened.
- Sub-section (1) was so numbered, and sub-section (2) inserted, by Act 13 of 2018 (w.e.f. 19-4-2018), as the footnotes print.
- The section prints no notice to the person, penalty or admissibility rule.
Read next
- Sections 48-49 and 51-53 PMLA: authorities
- Section 50 PMLA: summons, production of documents and evidence
- Sections 65, 67-69 and 71 PMLA: procedure, bar of suits and overriding effect
- Enforcement Directorate powers under PMLA
Disclaimer: Based on the consolidated text of the Prevention of Money-laundering Act, 2002 published by the Enforcement Directorate, showing amendments up to Act 23 of 2019 (1 August 2019), and on the Department of Revenue consolidated copy of the Prevention of Money-laundering (Maintenance of Records) Rules, 2005 listing amendments up to 19 July 2024, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendments, notifications, other rules and regulator directions should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.