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Section 258 Income Tax Act 2025: Who Can Access Taxpayer Information?

Can the Income Tax Department share an assessee's returns or assessment information with another authority or a private applicant? Section 258 specifies when disclosure is permitted, who may authorise it and when disclosure can be restricted.

Current law: Section 258 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 (effective from 1 April 2026) deals with disclosure of information relating to assessees. It broadly corresponds to Section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. This article describes the 2025 Act as amended by the Finance Act, 2026.

What does Section 258 regulate?

Information collected by income-tax authorities while administering the Act may include return particulars, assessment material, financial disclosures and records obtained in enquiries. Section 258 does not make such information freely available to the public. Instead, it creates specific statutory routes for disclosure and permits restrictions by Central Government notification.

Section 258(1): Disclosure to specified authorities

The Central Board of Direct Taxes (the Board), or another income-tax authority specified by its order, may furnish information obtained in performing duties under the Act when the Board or specified authority considers it necessary to enable a recipient to discharge functions under another law.

Section 258(1)(a): Tax, duty, cess and foreign exchange functions

Information may be furnished to an officer, authority or body performing functions under a law concerning imposition of a tax, duty or cess, or dealings in foreign exchange as defined in Section 2(n) of the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999.

Section 258(1)(b): Other laws and public interest

For an officer, authority or body functioning under another law, the Central Government must consider disclosure necessary in the public interest and specify the recipient by notification. Even then, the information furnished must be considered necessary for the recipient's statutory functions.

Important distinction: A statutory power to share information between authorities does not confer a general right on every person to obtain another taxpayer's records.

Section 258(2): Can a person apply for taxpayer information?

Yes, but disclosure is discretionary and subject to a public-interest test. An applicant may apply in the prescribed form to the Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner or Commissioner. The competent authority may furnish information relating to an assessee obtained in the performance of income-tax functions only after being satisfied that doing so is in the public interest.

Section 258(2)(b) states that the decision of the competent authority on disclosure is final and shall not be called in question in any court of law. The provision should not be presented as an unconditional entitlement to confidential tax information; questions concerning constitutional remedies or other overriding legal requirements require separate legal analysis.

Section 258(3): Central Government restrictions

Despite subsections (1) and (2), and notwithstanding any other law in force, the Central Government may issue a notification restricting production or furnishing of information or documents by public servants in respect of specified matters or classes of assessees. Such notification may confine disclosure to the authorities named in it.

The restriction depends on the wording and scope of the applicable notification; Section 258(3) does not itself establish a blanket prohibition covering all taxpayers.

Relevant statutory terms

Assessee: A person falling within the definition of assessee in Section 2 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, including persons liable for tax or other sums under the Act and other persons included by that definition.

Board: The Central Board of Direct Taxes, the statutory central body for direct-tax administration.

Income-tax authority: An authority recognised under the Income-tax Act, 2025; the disclosure power here is limited to authorities expressly empowered by Section 258.

Prescribed: Specified by rules made under the Act; an application under Section 258(2) must use the applicable prescribed form.

Public interest: The statutory condition requiring the competent authority to determine whether disclosure serves a public purpose. Section 258 does not give every applicant an automatic right of access merely because information is requested.

How does an application for disclosure work?

Identify the assessee, relevant tax year and precise information sought.
Determine the applicable prescribed form and competent income-tax authority under Section 258(2) and the current rules.
Explain the public-interest grounds supporting the request, with supporting material where appropriate.
Submit the application through the prescribed channel and retain its acknowledgement.
The authority considers the request, the statutory conditions and any applicable restrictions before deciding whether information may be furnished.

For disclosure applications, consult Rule 155 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026 and the relevant prescribed forms. The official departmental guidance identifies Form 88 for applications and Forms 89, 90 and 91 for furnishing information, non-availability and refusal respectively; verify the current prescribed version before filing.

Practical examples

Example 1: A tax authority administering another tax law requires specific income-tax information for its statutory functions. Section 258(1)(a) may provide a lawful sharing route, subject to the Board's or designated authority's necessity assessment.

Example 2: A private litigant seeks an unrelated individual's entire income-tax return merely to support a commercial dispute. Section 258(2) does not guarantee disclosure; the applicant must follow the prescribed process and establish a public-interest basis to the competent authority's satisfaction.

Example 3: A Central Government notification restricts disclosure for a specified class of assessees. That notification must be considered even where a request otherwise appears to fall within subsection (1) or (2).

Relationship with Section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961

Section 258 broadly carries forward the framework of former Section 138 governing disclosure of information respecting assessees. However, applications and official references should use the provision applicable to the relevant period and the corresponding rules. The identical section number 258 in the 1961 Act dealt with a different subject and should not be confused with Section 258 of the 2025 Act.

Frequently asked questions

Can anyone obtain another person's income-tax return?

No automatic public right arises under Section 258. A request under subsection (2) requires the prescribed application and satisfaction of the competent authority that disclosure is in the public interest.

Can tax information be shared with GST or foreign-exchange authorities?

Section 258(1)(a) permits sharing with eligible authorities performing functions under laws concerning taxes, duties, cesses or foreign-exchange dealings, where the designated income-tax authority considers the information necessary for those functions.

Who decides an application made by a person?

The Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, as specified in Section 258(2).

Does Section 258 protect every document from disclosure?

No. It sets out circumstances for permitted disclosure and also empowers the Central Government to impose notification-based restrictions under subsection (3).

Which older provision corresponds to Section 258?

Section 138 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 broadly corresponds to Section 258 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Official law and further reading

Official Income-tax Act, 2025 (PDF)Official Form 89 guidance Income Tax e-Filing Portal

Updated: 11 November 2026. This article provides general legal information and is not a substitute for advice on a particular disclosure request.