Section 279B — Proof of entries in records or documents
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. Evidentiary provision easing proof of departmental records.
Finance Act, 2026: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Mechanism: Entries in records/documents in the custody of an income-tax authority are admissible in any prosecution under the Chapter, proved by the originals or by a certified copy under the authority's signature.
Litigation profile: Sparse — an evidentiary facilitation; no direct merits authority.
A. COMMENTARY
Facilitating proof of official records
Section 279B is a rule of evidence tailored to prosecutions under Chapter XXII. It provides that entries in the records or other documents in the custody of an income-tax authority are admissible in evidence in any prosecution for an offence under the Chapter, and may be proved either by producing the records themselves or by producing a certified copy of the entries — certified under the signature of the authority having custody and stating that it is a true copy of the original entries in its custody. It spares the prosecution the inconvenience of producing voluminous originals and authenticating each in the ordinary way.
Relationship with the Evidence Act / BSA
Section 279B operates as a special provision facilitating proof, complementing the general law on public documents and certified copies. It does not displace the accused's right to challenge the genuineness or accuracy of an entry; it merely renders the certified copy admissible. Read with section 278D (presumption as to seized books) and section 278E (presumption of culpable mental state), it forms part of the evidentiary scaffolding that supports departmental prosecutions.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
Text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; section 279B is not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Proof of entries in records or documents.
279B. Entries in the records or other documents in the custody of an income-tax authority shall be admitted in evidence in any proceedings for the prosecution of any person for an offence under this Chapter, and all such entries may be proved either by the production of the records or other documents in the custody of the income-tax authority containing such entries, or by the production of a copy of the entries certified by the income-tax authority having custody of the records or other documents under its signature and stating that it is a true copy of the original entries and that such original entries are contained in the records or other documents in its custody.
C. AUTHORITIES
No reported decision construes section 279B directly (candour rule). It is understood as a special rule of admissibility complementing the general law on proof of public/official records.
Cognate authority — proof and presumptions in tax prosecutions
Pooran Mal v. Director of Inspection (1974) 93 ITR 505 (SC)
Court/Year Supreme Court, 1974.
Holding Material lawfully gathered by the department is admissible in evidence; supports the admissibility facilitation that section 279B provides for departmental records.
CHAPTER XXII — OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS
Section 279B — Proof of entries in records or documents
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. Evidentiary provision easing proof of departmental records.
Finance Act, 2026: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Mechanism: Entries in records/documents in the custody of an income-tax authority are admissible in any prosecution under the Chapter, proved by the originals or by a certified copy under the authority's signature.
Litigation profile: Sparse — an evidentiary facilitation; no direct merits authority.
A. COMMENTARY
Facilitating proof of official records
Section 279B is a rule of evidence tailored to prosecutions under Chapter XXII. It provides that entries in the records or other documents in the custody of an income-tax authority are admissible in evidence in any prosecution for an offence under the Chapter, and may be proved either by producing the records themselves or by producing a certified copy of the entries — certified under the signature of the authority having custody and stating that it is a true copy of the original entries in its custody. It spares the prosecution the inconvenience of producing voluminous originals and authenticating each in the ordinary way.
Relationship with the Evidence Act / BSA
Section 279B operates as a special provision facilitating proof, complementing the general law on public documents and certified copies. It does not displace the accused's right to challenge the genuineness or accuracy of an entry; it merely renders the certified copy admissible. Read with section 278D (presumption as to seized books) and section 278E (presumption of culpable mental state), it forms part of the evidentiary scaffolding that supports departmental prosecutions.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
Text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; section 279B is not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Proof of entries in records or documents.
279B. Entries in the records or other documents in the custody of an income-tax authority shall be admitted in evidence in any proceedings for the prosecution of any person for an offence under this Chapter, and all such entries may be proved either by the production of the records or other documents in the custody of the income-tax authority containing such entries, or by the production of a copy of the entries certified by the income-tax authority having custody of the records or other documents under its signature and stating that it is a true copy of the original entries and that such original entries are contained in the records or other documents in its custody.
C. AUTHORITIES
No reported decision construes section 279B directly (candour rule). It is understood as a special rule of admissibility complementing the general law on proof of public/official records.
Cognate authority — proof and presumptions in tax prosecutions
Pooran Mal v. Director of Inspection (1974) 93 ITR 505 (SC)
Court/Year Supreme Court, 1974.
Holding Material lawfully gathered by the department is admissible in evidence; supports the admissibility facilitation that section 279B provides for departmental records.