IBBI Registered Valuers Gain Access to Government Search & Seizure Assignments Under Income Tax Act 2025
The landscape for IBBI Registered Valuers specializing in Land & Building (L&B) has transformed significantly with a landmark development under the Income Tax Act 2025. For the first time, these professionals are formally recognized as eligible service providers to the Income Tax Department during search and seizure operations — a development that carries profound implications for both professional growth and enforcement accuracy.
Understanding Section 247 of the Income Tax Act 2025
Scope and Purpose
Section 247 of the Income Tax Act 2025 lays down the framework governing search and seizure operations. It confers powers upon authorized officers to act on "reason to believe" that undisclosed income or concealed assets may exist. The provision represents a modernized approach to enforcement, extending its reach to digital records and digital infrastructure in addition to physical properties.
Importantly, the Finance Ministry has explicitly clarified that the section does not grant sweeping or blanket artificial intelligence surveillance powers. The legislative intent is strictly confined to structured enforcement with well-defined procedural safeguards.
Key Subsections: (5) and (9)
The most consequential provisions for valuation professionals are subsections (5) and (9) of Section 247. These subsections authorize the requisitioning of specialized valuation services during or after a search operation. The statutory language of the provision reads as follows:
"The authorised officer may requisition the services of any person to assist him for all or any of the purposes & during the course of the search or seizure, or within sixty days from the date on which the last of the authorisations for search was executed, make a reference to a Valuation Officer, or any person registered as a valuer under section 514, or any person or entity registered by or under any law in force, as may be approved by the Principal Chief Commissioner or the Chief Commissioner or the Principal Director General or the Director General, in accordance with the procedure as may be prescribed in this regard, requiring him to—
(a) estimate the fair market value of the property in the manner, as may be prescribed; and
(b) submit a report of the estimate to the authorised officer or the Assessing Officer, within sixty days from the date of receipt of such reference."
This statutory language is pivotal. The phrase "any person or entity registered by or under any law in force" is the gateway provision that formally brings IBBI Registered Valuers within the fold of Income Tax Department-approved service providers. Approval for such valuers is contingent upon sanction from senior-level officers, namely the Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Director General, or Director General.