Section 259 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 — Power to Call for Information by Prescribed Income-tax Authority

In plain language

What Section 259 actually says

Section 259 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 gives a specially "prescribed income-tax authority" the power to issue a notice asking any person to furnish information that is useful for, or relevant to, any inquiry or proceeding under the Act — but only for the purpose of verifying information already in the possession of that authority. In plain words: the department already holds some data about you (say from your bank, an SFT filing, TDS returns or your ITR), and this section lets a designated authority formally ask you (or a third party) to confirm or supply matching details.

• Sub-section (1) — the prescribed authority may issue a notice requiring a person to furnish information in a specified form, manner and within a specified time.
• Sub-section (2) — the authority may process and utilise the information/documents received as per a scheme notified under Section 260 (the faceless/centralised information-collection scheme).
• Sub-section (3) — the word "proceeding" here carries the meaning given in Section 253.

This is the successor to Section 133C of the 1961 Act

Section 259 is the re-drafted, simplified version of the old Section 133C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 ("Power to call for information by prescribed income-tax authority"). The concept is identical, but the 2025 Act uses cleaner language and links processing to the new Section 260 scheme instead of the old Section 135A e-Verification framework.

Who is a "prescribed income-tax authority"?

This is not your regular Assessing Officer acting on their own. Under the corresponding rule framework (Rule 12D of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, carried into the 2025 regime), the prescribed authority is an officer not below the rank of Assistant Commissioner / Income-tax Officer specifically authorised by the CBDT — typically officers attached to a centralised cell (such as the Directorate of Systems). This centralisation is deliberate: it allows bulk, data-driven verification rather than case-by-case fishing.

Key conditions and limits

• Only for verification of information already held. The authority cannot use Section 259 for an open-ended fishing expedition; it targets data the department already has.
• Notice must specify form, manner and time. A vague or open-ended demand is defective.
• Any person can be asked — the taxpayer, a bank, an employer, a company, a registrar, or any third party who holds relevant information.
• Faceless processing — under Section 260, the notice and processing are increasingly issued electronically without physical interface.
• No entry/survey power. Unlike survey/search provisions, Section 259 is purely a notice-and-furnish power; the officer does not enter premises or seize anything.

How it interacts with related sections

• Section 260 supplies the scheme for centralised issuance of notices and processing of the collected information, and for passing the outcome to the Assessing Officer.
• Section 252 (general power to call for information — successor to Section 133 of 1961) is the broader companion power exercisable by AOs and higher authorities.
• Section 254 (power to collect certain information — successor to Section 133B) is the on-premises information-collection power.
• Section 253 defines "proceeding" for this Chapter.

Practical implications for taxpayers

If you receive a Section 259 notice, it usually means the department is cross-checking a specific data point — a high-value transaction, a mismatch between your return and third-party reporting, or a Statement of Financial Transactions (SFT) entry. Respond within the stated time, in the exact form asked, and keep documentary proof. Ignoring it can trigger penalty and best-judgment consequences and can escalate into scrutiny. Because processing is centralised and faceless, replies are normally uploaded on the e-filing portal.