Explained: Are details of income-tax return filings confidential?

Experts cited that disclosing an individual's income tax returns constitutes a violation of their fundamental right to privacy as recognized by the Indian Constitution

Are income-tax returns of individuals confidential? The matter has come up after Madhabi Puri Buch, chairperson of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), and her husband, Dhaval Buch, on Friday said their income-tax details had been accessed fraudulently.

“Shockingly, our income-tax returns clearly have been obtained by adopting fraudulent means and illegally. This is a clear breach of not only our right to privacy (which is a fundamental right) but also a violation of the Income Tax Act,” they said in a statement.  

Experts say disclosing an individual’s income-tax returns is tantamount to violating the person’s