Now Reading: Supreme Court orders government probe into ITR, EPFO data sale claims
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Supreme Court orders government probe into ITR, EPFO data sale claims
The Supreme Court has directed the government to investigate allegations that private companies are commercially exploiting income tax and provident fund records of millions of Indians. While hearing a PIL, the court…
The Supreme Court has directed the government to investigate allegations that private companies are commercially exploiting income tax and provident fund records of millions of Indians. While hearing a PIL, the court advised the government to work with domain experts to devise an 'antidote' to the problem and requested action preferably within four months. The apex court has not ruled that a data breach occurred, nor stated that private firms can freely access citizens' ITR or EPFO records.
The PIL claims private services are advertising access to government-held data, including Income Tax Returns, Form 26AS, and EPFO passbook data, for a fee. The court order does not suggest all background checks are wrong, but directs authorities to examine whether existing digital systems allow unauthorised access or contain security gaps. The government must now clarify whether private entities are actually accessing sensitive tax-linked and EPFO data as alleged, and what safeguards are needed to prevent future misuse.
Indian Opinion Analysis
The core question is whether India's digital public infrastructure, built for citizen convenience, has created portals that allow private actors to harvest data without explicit consent. Under the IT Act of 2000 and the new Digital Personal Data Protection Act of 2023, any commercial use of personal data without consent is illegal. But the practical challenge is enforcement: the EPFO and Income Tax Department operate massive databases accessed through PAN and UAN numbers. If the investigation finds that private background-check firms are pulling full ITR and EPFO records via authorised API channels, the remedy will likely be tighter access controls and audit logs, not a system shutdown. The government's response, due within four months, will set the precedent for how India governs data that sits at the intersection of state authority and corporate need.
Source: livemint.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
