Case Laws & Commentary - Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) - bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Section 133 - power of named authorities to call for information (clauses (1)-(5)) and, under clause (6), to require any person to furnish information/statements useful for, or relevant to, any enquiry or proceeding; proviso - for clause (6), power to call for information not referable to any pending proceeding requires the approval of the Principal Director/Director or Principal Commissioner/Commissioner.
Chapter / Part: Chapter XIII, Part C - Powers.
FA 2026 status: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Nature: The general information-gathering power; clause (6) is the source of wide third-party enquiries. Leading authority: Kathiroor Service Cooperative Bank (SC).
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
A graduated information power, culminating in clause (6)
Section 133 enables the income-tax authorities to gather information from third parties. Clauses (1) to (5) target specified relationships - requiring a firm to furnish a statement of its partners, a Hindu undivided family to furnish particulars of its members, transferees to furnish particulars of transfers, dealers/brokers/agents to furnish particulars of dealings, and so forth. Clause (6) is the broadest: it empowers the authority to require any person, including a banking company or its officer, to furnish information in relation to such points or matters, or to furnish statements of accounts and affairs, as may be useful for or relevant to any enquiry or proceeding under the Act. The proviso erects a safeguard for the most general use of clause (6): where the information is called for without reference to any proceeding pending before any authority, the exercise requires the prior approval of the Principal Director / Director or Principal Commissioner / Commissioner.
Clause (6) supports a general, even 'roving', enquiry - within its safeguard
The leading authority is the Supreme Court's decision in Kathiroor Service Cooperative Bank, which decisively rejected the contention that clause (6) is confined to 'case-specific' or 'area-specific' information tied to a pending proceeding. The Court held that the power under section 133(6) is in the nature of a survey and general enquiry, designed to identify persons likely to have taxable income and to verify compliance; it does not require the pendency of a proceeding against any particular assessee, and a notice calling on a bank to furnish details of all customers with cash transactions or deposits above a threshold over a period of years was a valid exercise of the power. The safeguard against misuse is the proviso's requirement of senior approval where the information is not referable to a pending proceeding; the power is broad, but it is channelled. The Kerala High Court applied this in Enanalloor Service Co-operative Bank.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced below is section 133 as it stands in the bare Act.
133. The Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Joint Commissioner or [the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or] the Commissioner (Appeals) may, for the purposes of this Act,—
(1) require any firm to furnish him with a return of the names and addresses of the partners of the firm and their respective shares;
(2) require any Hindu undivided family to furnish him with a return of the names and addresses of the manager and the members of the family;
(3) require any person whom he has reason to believe to be a trustee, guardian or agent, to furnish him with a return of the names of the persons for or of whom he is trustee, guardian or agent, and of their addresses;
(4) require any assessee to furnish a statement of the names and addresses of all persons to whom he has paid in any previous year rent, interest, commission, royalty or brokerage, or any annuity, not being any annuity taxable under the head "Salaries" amounting to more than one thousand rupees, or such higher amount as may be prescribed, together with particulars of all such payments made;
(5) require any dealer, broker or agent or any person concerned in the management of a stock or commodity exchange to furnish a statement of the names and addresses of all persons to whom he or the exchange has paid any sum in connection with the transfer, whether by way of sale, exchange or otherwise, of assets, or on whose behalf or from whom he or the exchange has received any such sum, together with particulars of all such payments and receipts ;
(6) require any person, including a banking company or any officer thereof, to furnish information in relation to such points or matters, or to furnish statements of accounts and affairs verified in the manner specified by the Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Joint Commissioner or [the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or] the Commissioner (Appeals), giving information in relation to such points or matters as, in the opinion of the Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Joint Commissioner or [the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or] the Commissioner (Appeals), will be useful for, or relevant to, any enquiry or proceeding under this Act :
Provided that the powers referred to in clause (6), may also be exercised by the Principal Director General or Director-General, the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner, the Principal Director or Director or the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or the Joint Director or Deputy Director or Assistant Director :
Provided further that the power in respect of an inquiry, in a case where no proceeding is pending, shall not be exercised by any income-tax authority below the rank of Principal Director or Director or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, other than the Joint Director or Deputy Director or Assistant Director, without the prior approval of the Principal Director or Director or, as the case may be, the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner:
Provided also that for the purposes of an agreement referred to in section 90 or section 90A, an income-tax authority notified under sub-section (2) of section 131 may exercise all the powers conferred under this section, notwithstanding that no proceedings are pending before it or any other income-tax authority.
C. AUTHORITIES
Cluster 1 - Scope of clause (6): general enquiry permissible, subject to the proviso
Kathiroor Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. v. CIT (CIB) (2014) 360 ITR 243 (SC)
Forum / Citation: Supreme Court of India, 27 August 2013. Reported: (2014) 360 ITR 243 (SC); (2013) 263 CTR 129; (2014) 220 Taxman 41; (2014) 14 SCC 352.
Facts: The ITO (CIB) issued a notice under section 133(6) requiring a co-operative bank to furnish details of all customers who had made cash transactions / time deposits of Rs. 1,00,000 and above over a three-year period, without reference to any pending proceeding. The bank contended that clause (6) permitted only case-specific information.
Held: The power under section 133(6) is in the nature of a survey and a general enquiry to identify persons likely to have taxable income and to verify compliance; it is not confined to information about a particular assessee and does not require a pending proceeding. The notice was a valid exercise of the power; the proviso's requirement of senior approval (for information not referable to a pending proceeding) is the safeguard, and it was satisfied.
Principle: Section 133(6) authorises general, non-case-specific enquiry to detect potential tax evasion, subject to the proviso's approval requirement.
Relevance: The leading and controlling authority on the breadth of the clause (6) power.
Enanalloor Service Co-operative Bank Ltd. v. ITO (Intelligence) (2020) 426 ITR 180 (Ker)
Forum / Citation: Kerala High Court, 2020. Reported: (2020) 426 ITR 180 (Ker); (2020) 194 DTR 189; (2021) 276 Taxman 368.
Facts: A co-operative bank challenged a section 133(6) notice calling for customer transaction details, relying on the absence of any pending proceeding.
Held: Following Kathiroor, the notice under section 133(6) calling for general information from the bank was valid; the power is in the nature of a general enquiry to gather information useful or relevant to the administration of the Act and does not require a pending proceeding, the proviso's approval requirement being the safeguard.
Principle: The breadth of section 133(6) recognised in Kathiroor is applied at the High Court level; general information-gathering from banks is permissible.
Relevance: A recent High Court application of Kathiroor, confirming the settled position.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act (Chapter XIII, ss. 116-138). Each authority is cited with its full parallel reporter citations as reported; Supreme Court, High Court and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) rulings are identified as such. Where a section has not been directly construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. For professional reference; not legal advice.
CHAPTER XIII - INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES
Section 133 - Power to Call for Information
Case Laws & Commentary - Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) - bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Section 133 - power of named authorities to call for information (clauses (1)-(5)) and, under clause (6), to require any person to furnish information/statements useful for, or relevant to, any enquiry or proceeding; proviso - for clause (6), power to call for information not referable to any pending proceeding requires the approval of the Principal Director/Director or Principal Commissioner/Commissioner.
Chapter / Part: Chapter XIII, Part C - Powers.
FA 2026 status: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Nature: The general information-gathering power; clause (6) is the source of wide third-party enquiries. Leading authority: Kathiroor Service Cooperative Bank (SC).
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
A graduated information power, culminating in clause (6)
Section 133 enables the income-tax authorities to gather information from third parties. Clauses (1) to (5) target specified relationships - requiring a firm to furnish a statement of its partners, a Hindu undivided family to furnish particulars of its members, transferees to furnish particulars of transfers, dealers/brokers/agents to furnish particulars of dealings, and so forth. Clause (6) is the broadest: it empowers the authority to require any person, including a banking company or its officer, to furnish information in relation to such points or matters, or to furnish statements of accounts and affairs, as may be useful for or relevant to any enquiry or proceeding under the Act. The proviso erects a safeguard for the most general use of clause (6): where the information is called for without reference to any proceeding pending before any authority, the exercise requires the prior approval of the Principal Director / Director or Principal Commissioner / Commissioner.
Clause (6) supports a general, even 'roving', enquiry - within its safeguard
The leading authority is the Supreme Court's decision in Kathiroor Service Cooperative Bank, which decisively rejected the contention that clause (6) is confined to 'case-specific' or 'area-specific' information tied to a pending proceeding. The Court held that the power under section 133(6) is in the nature of a survey and general enquiry, designed to identify persons likely to have taxable income and to verify compliance; it does not require the pendency of a proceeding against any particular assessee, and a notice calling on a bank to furnish details of all customers with cash transactions or deposits above a threshold over a period of years was a valid exercise of the power. The safeguard against misuse is the proviso's requirement of senior approval where the information is not referable to a pending proceeding; the power is broad, but it is channelled. The Kerala High Court applied this in Enanalloor Service Co-operative Bank.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
Reproduced below is section 133 as it stands in the bare Act.
133. The Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Joint Commissioner or [the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or] the Commissioner (Appeals) may, for the purposes of this Act,—
(1) require any firm to furnish him with a return of the names and addresses of the partners of the firm and their respective shares;
(2) require any Hindu undivided family to furnish him with a return of the names and addresses of the manager and the members of the family;
(3) require any person whom he has reason to believe to be a trustee, guardian or agent, to furnish him with a return of the names of the persons for or of whom he is trustee, guardian or agent, and of their addresses;
(4) require any assessee to furnish a statement of the names and addresses of all persons to whom he has paid in any previous year rent, interest, commission, royalty or brokerage, or any annuity, not being any annuity taxable under the head "Salaries" amounting to more than one thousand rupees, or such higher amount as may be prescribed, together with particulars of all such payments made;
(5) require any dealer, broker or agent or any person concerned in the management of a stock or commodity exchange to furnish a statement of the names and addresses of all persons to whom he or the exchange has paid any sum in connection with the transfer, whether by way of sale, exchange or otherwise, of assets, or on whose behalf or from whom he or the exchange has received any such sum, together with particulars of all such payments and receipts ;
(6) require any person, including a banking company or any officer thereof, to furnish information in relation to such points or matters, or to furnish statements of accounts and affairs verified in the manner specified by the Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Joint Commissioner or [the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or] the Commissioner (Appeals), giving information in relation to such points or matters as, in the opinion of the Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Joint Commissioner or [the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or] the Commissioner (Appeals), will be useful for, or relevant to, any enquiry or proceeding under this Act :
Provided that the powers referred to in clause (6), may also be exercised by the Principal Director General or Director-General, the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner, the Principal Director or Director or the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner or the Joint Director or Deputy Director or Assistant Director :
Provided further that the power in respect of an inquiry, in a case where no proceeding is pending, shall not be exercised by any income-tax authority below the rank of Principal Director or Director or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, other than the Joint Director or Deputy Director or Assistant Director, without the prior approval of the Principal Director or Director or, as the case may be, the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner:
Provided also that for the purposes of an agreement referred to in section 90 or section 90A, an income-tax authority notified under sub-section (2) of section 131 may exercise all the powers conferred under this section, notwithstanding that no proceedings are pending before it or any other income-tax authority.
C. AUTHORITIES
Cluster 1 - Scope of clause (6): general enquiry permissible, subject to the proviso
Kathiroor Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. v. CIT (CIB) (2014) 360 ITR 243 (SC)
Forum / Citation: Supreme Court of India, 27 August 2013. Reported: (2014) 360 ITR 243 (SC); (2013) 263 CTR 129; (2014) 220 Taxman 41; (2014) 14 SCC 352.
Facts: The ITO (CIB) issued a notice under section 133(6) requiring a co-operative bank to furnish details of all customers who had made cash transactions / time deposits of Rs. 1,00,000 and above over a three-year period, without reference to any pending proceeding. The bank contended that clause (6) permitted only case-specific information.
Held: The power under section 133(6) is in the nature of a survey and a general enquiry to identify persons likely to have taxable income and to verify compliance; it is not confined to information about a particular assessee and does not require a pending proceeding. The notice was a valid exercise of the power; the proviso's requirement of senior approval (for information not referable to a pending proceeding) is the safeguard, and it was satisfied.
Principle: Section 133(6) authorises general, non-case-specific enquiry to detect potential tax evasion, subject to the proviso's approval requirement.
Relevance: The leading and controlling authority on the breadth of the clause (6) power.
Enanalloor Service Co-operative Bank Ltd. v. ITO (Intelligence) (2020) 426 ITR 180 (Ker)
Forum / Citation: Kerala High Court, 2020. Reported: (2020) 426 ITR 180 (Ker); (2020) 194 DTR 189; (2021) 276 Taxman 368.
Facts: A co-operative bank challenged a section 133(6) notice calling for customer transaction details, relying on the absence of any pending proceeding.
Held: Following Kathiroor, the notice under section 133(6) calling for general information from the bank was valid; the power is in the nature of a general enquiry to gather information useful or relevant to the administration of the Act and does not require a pending proceeding, the proviso's approval requirement being the safeguard.
Principle: The breadth of section 133(6) recognised in Kathiroor is applied at the High Court level; general information-gathering from banks is permissible.
Relevance: A recent High Court application of Kathiroor, confirming the settled position.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act (Chapter XIII, ss. 116-138). Each authority is cited with its full parallel reporter citations as reported; Supreme Court, High Court and Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) rulings are identified as such. Where a section has not been directly construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. For professional reference; not legal advice.