Last updated: November 21st, 2023 9:35 AM

Section 133(6)

Section 133(6) is a section in the Income Tax Act which grants investigative power to the assessing officers. The investigative power includes demanding information that is relevant for any proceedings under the Income Tax Act. The investigative power also includes the making of enquiries and the verification of cash deposits under the 'Operation Clean Money'. The assessing authorities are empowered to issue a income tax notice under for general information for the purpose of enquiry in cases where there are no pending liabilities of income tax or other obligations. In this article, Section 133(6) of the Income Tax Act is explained.

Provisions under Section 133(6)

The features and provisions under Section 133(6) are listed below as follows:

• The issuance of notice from any individual, including the assessee, under section 133(6),
• As per the provisions under this section, the information that can be called for on any point or accounts or matters that in the opinion of the authorities specified will be useful or relevant to any enquiry or proceeding under the Income Tax Act.
• The information can be called for not always have been pending proceedings but can be called whether the proceedings are pending or not.
• The information can be called for checking whether the proceedings are pending or not and also for the pending proceedings.
• There is no farmed time limit for the calling for information.

Eligibility Criteria 

As per section 133(6), the power to call is given to the below following:

• Under sub-sections 1 to 5 of section 133 power can be called for by the Assessing Officer(AO), Joint commissioner or commissioner.
• Under section 133(6), it provides the power to call information to the AO, Joint Commissioner or Commissioner, Director or Commissioner and Director General or Chief Commissioner as well.
• In the case of Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA) under section 90, the powers section under section 133(6) can be permitted only by the authority above the rank of Assistant Director or Assistant Commissioner as per section 131(2), despite the fact, there are no proceedings pending or any other income-tax authority.

Call for Information

Under this section, it grants the power to the below officers those who can call for the information from:

• Any person defined under section 2(31) by the Income Tax Act,1961, including the banking officer or any concerned officer.
• A list of persons those who have made the term or recurring deposits of 50,000 and above along with their addresses in the co-operative banks
• Any person with a valid reason to believe to be a trustee, guardian or agent, to provide him/her with the return of the names of the persons for or who is trustee, guardian or agent, and of their addresses

Type of Information

The information that can be useful in the proceedings:

• In relation to the information on “matters” or “such points".
• To produce the statement of accounts and affairs that are verified by the above-specified authorities in a specified manner.

Terms and Conditions

• It provides the power to call for the information only after the approval of the Director of Investigation or Commissioner of Income Tax.
•  The ITD system generates a notice. Hence, the do not submit the handwritten notice.
•  According to section 133(6), reply to the notice by the person under verification, which can be done only through Online mode.
•  It is said that the verification under the ‘Operation Clean Money’ is to be made through Online-Verification Portal about the SOP.
•  In case the person under verification doesn’t give or reply to the notice in the allotted time period given by the assessing officer regarding the cash deposits in his/her bank accounts, the case would be escalated as “Not Acceptable”, and further actions can be taken as the procedure in the SOP of CBDT.