Section 489 — Presumption as to Assets, Books, etc., Found in Search | ITA 2025

Section 489 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 corresponds to s. 278 D of the Income-tax Act, 1961. STATUTORY ARCHITECTURE Where any money, bullion, jewellery, books or document is found in search u/s 247 [132], it shall be presumed in…

Section 489 — - PRESUMPTION AS TO ASSETS, BOOKS, ETC., FOUND IN SEARCH

Section 489 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 corresponds to s. 278D of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

Statutory text — Income-tax Act, 2025

( 1) Where during the course of any search made under section 247, any money, b ullion, jewellery, virtual digit asset or other valuable article or thing (herein- after referred to as the assets) or any books of account or other documents or any information in electronic form as defined in section 261(g) or on a computer system as defined in section 261(e) or any computer system containing the said information, has or have been found in the possession or control of any person and such assets or books of account or other documents or such information are tendered by the prosecution in evidence against such person, or against such person and the person referred to in section 484, for an offence under this Act, the provisions of section 247(7) shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to such assets or books of account or other documents or such information.

(2) Where any assets or books of account or other documents any information in electronic form or on a computer system or any computer system containing the said information taken into custody from the possession or control of any person, by the officer or authority referred to in section 248(1)(a) or (b) or (c) are delivered to the requisitioning officer under sub-section (2) of that section and such assets, books of account or other documents or such information are tendered by the prosecution in evidence against such person, or against such person and the person referred to in section 484, for an offence under this Act, the provisions of section 247(7) shall, so far as may be, apply in relation to such assets or books of account or other documents or such information. Presumption as to culpable mental state.

STATUTORY ARCHITECTURE

Where any money, bullion, jewellery, books or document is found in search u/s 247 [132], it shall be presumed in prosecution proceedings that they belong to the person from whose custody they were found and that contents of books / documents are true.

PRACTITIONER PLANNING NOTES

Rebuttable presumption; assessee can adduce evidence to contradict; Pooran Mal / K.P. Madhusudhanan apply.

CROSS-REFERENCES

s. 491 [279] -- sanction and compounding.
s. 486 [278AA] -- reasonable cause.
s. 487 [278B] -- offences by companies.
s. 490 [278E] -- presumption of culpable mental state.

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INCOME-TAX ACT, 2025	INCOME-TAX ACT, 1961
2025 provision	1961 counterpart
s. 489 -- Presumption as to Assets, Books, etc., Found in Search	s. 278D