New Tax Laws Explained: GST Rates, Income Tax Changes, and Data Access Concerns

New Tax Laws: Tax Policy or Digital Policing? The Debate Around Provision 247

The government’s recently proposed New Tax Laws, that has triggered a storm of criticism, as citizens and opposition leaders alike express deep concerns about sweeping surveillance powers, increasing tax burdens, and the broader erosion of privacy in an era of growing digital control.

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At the center of the controversy is Provision 247, which empowers income tax officers to bypass any password and access emails, social media accounts, cloud storage, phone data, and bank information of anyone served an I-T summons. Gurdeep Sappal, Congress Working Committee member, called it a “gross violation” of the fundamental right to privacy, upheld by the Supreme Court. He warned the law risks turning India into a “surveillance state” where citizens’ every digital move is monitored without adequate safeguards.

But these new tax laws is only part of a larger pattern. Since the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, the government has amassed unprecedented access to individual and business financial data, collecting detailed information on transactions, supply chains, and vendor relationships. While GST aimed to simplify indirect taxation, critics argue it has instead increased compliance burdens and expanded the government’s reach into private economic activity.