Section 280 — Disclosure of particulars by public servants
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. Penalises wrongful disclosure of assessee particulars by public servants.
Finance Act, 2026: AMENDED w.e.f. 1 March 2026 — punishment reduced to simple imprisonment up to one month, or fine, or both (see amendment note).
Mechanism: Punishes a public servant who discloses information/documents in contravention of section 138(2); prosecution requires the previous sanction of the Central Government.
Litigation profile: Sparse — no direct reported merits authority; a confidentiality-protection provision.
A. COMMENTARY
Protecting the confidentiality of assessee information
Section 280 is the penal guarantee of taxpayer confidentiality. It punishes a public servant who furnishes any information or produces any document in contravention of section 138(2) — the provision under which the Central Government may, by notification, restrict the disclosure of information relating to assessees. Sub-section (2) makes the previous sanction of the Central Government a condition precedent to prosecution, an important safeguard against the harassment of officials and a recognition that the disclosure regime is centrally controlled.
FA 2026 Amendment (w.e.f. 1 March 2026)
By section 31 of the Finance Act, 2026, with effect from 1 March 2026, in section 280(1) the words 'imprisonment which may extend to six months, and shall also be liable to fine' are substituted by 'simple imprisonment up to one month, or with fine, or with both'. The maximum imprisonment is sharply reduced from six months to one month, made simple, and the court is given the option of fine alone — a marked down-grading consistent with the Finance Act, 2026 rationalisation of the penal code. The sanction requirement in sub-section (2) is unchanged. The verbatim text in Part B is the pre-amendment text.
Practice note
The provision is rarely invoked, partly because of the central-sanction safeguard and partly because breaches of confidentiality are usually dealt with departmentally. It nonetheless underpins the assurance of confidentiality that the disclosure provisions (section 138) extend to taxpayers.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
The text reproduced is the pre-Finance Act, 2026 text; from 1 March 2026 the punishment is reduced to simple imprisonment up to one month, or fine, or both (see the amendment note above).
Disclosure of particulars by public servants.
280. (1) If a public servant furnishes any information or produces any document in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 138, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) No prosecution shall be instituted under this section except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.
C. AUTHORITIES
There is no reported merits prosecution under section 280 (candour rule). It is understood through the confidentiality regime of section 138 and the general law protecting official information.
Cognate authority — confidentiality of tax information
Section 138 disclosure regime
Court/Year Statutory context.
Holding Section 138(1)/(2) governs disclosure of assessee information and the Central Government's power to restrict it; section 280 is the penal sanction backing that confidentiality. No reported prosecution authority exists; candour rule applies.
CHAPTER XXII — OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS
Section 280 — Disclosure of particulars by public servants
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. Penalises wrongful disclosure of assessee particulars by public servants.
Finance Act, 2026: AMENDED w.e.f. 1 March 2026 — punishment reduced to simple imprisonment up to one month, or fine, or both (see amendment note).
Mechanism: Punishes a public servant who discloses information/documents in contravention of section 138(2); prosecution requires the previous sanction of the Central Government.
Litigation profile: Sparse — no direct reported merits authority; a confidentiality-protection provision.
A. COMMENTARY
Protecting the confidentiality of assessee information
Section 280 is the penal guarantee of taxpayer confidentiality. It punishes a public servant who furnishes any information or produces any document in contravention of section 138(2) — the provision under which the Central Government may, by notification, restrict the disclosure of information relating to assessees. Sub-section (2) makes the previous sanction of the Central Government a condition precedent to prosecution, an important safeguard against the harassment of officials and a recognition that the disclosure regime is centrally controlled.
FA 2026 Amendment (w.e.f. 1 March 2026)
By section 31 of the Finance Act, 2026, with effect from 1 March 2026, in section 280(1) the words 'imprisonment which may extend to six months, and shall also be liable to fine' are substituted by 'simple imprisonment up to one month, or with fine, or with both'. The maximum imprisonment is sharply reduced from six months to one month, made simple, and the court is given the option of fine alone — a marked down-grading consistent with the Finance Act, 2026 rationalisation of the penal code. The sanction requirement in sub-section (2) is unchanged. The verbatim text in Part B is the pre-amendment text.
Practice note
The provision is rarely invoked, partly because of the central-sanction safeguard and partly because breaches of confidentiality are usually dealt with departmentally. It nonetheless underpins the assurance of confidentiality that the disclosure provisions (section 138) extend to taxpayers.
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
The text reproduced is the pre-Finance Act, 2026 text; from 1 March 2026 the punishment is reduced to simple imprisonment up to one month, or fine, or both (see the amendment note above).
Disclosure of particulars by public servants.
280. (1) If a public servant furnishes any information or produces any document in contravention of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 138, he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, and shall also be liable to fine.
(2) No prosecution shall be instituted under this section except with the previous sanction of the Central Government.
C. AUTHORITIES
There is no reported merits prosecution under section 280 (candour rule). It is understood through the confidentiality regime of section 138 and the general law protecting official information.
Cognate authority — confidentiality of tax information
Section 138 disclosure regime
Court/Year Statutory context.
Holding Section 138(1)/(2) governs disclosure of assessee information and the Central Government's power to restrict it; section 280 is the penal sanction backing that confidentiality. No reported prosecution authority exists; candour rule applies.