Historical: Notification 70/2023 — Income-tax Nineteenth Amendment Rules (Search & Valuation)

Notification No. 70/2023 dated 28 August 2023 notified the Income-tax (Nineteenth Amendment) Rules, 2023 under the Income-tax Rules, 1962. The notification dealt with procedural rules connected with search proceedings under the then-operative Income-tax Act, 1961, including requisitioning specialised services and making valuation-related references under Section 132.

What did Notification 70/2023 change?

The amendment inserted procedural rules after Rule 12F of the Income-tax Rules, 1962. A central feature was Rule 13, which prescribed the procedure for requisitioning services under Section 132(2) and for making references under Section 132(9D) of the old Income-tax Act, 1961.

The purpose was to formalise how authorised income-tax authorities could obtain assistance from approved persons or entities and, where valuation or specialised examination was required, make a reference to an appropriate person or registered valuer under the statutory search framework.

Old Section 132(2): requisitioning specialised services

Under the old search-and-seizure framework, an authorised officer could require assistance where specialised knowledge or services were necessary for the purposes of a search. Rule 13 provided a procedural mechanism for approval of the person or entity whose services could be requisitioned.

For taxpayers and advisers, this mattered because a search exercise could involve technical areas that went beyond ordinary document examination—for example, valuation, inventory analysis, digital or technical assistance, or other specialised work permitted by the statutory framework.

Old Section 132(9D): references for valuation or specialised examination

Section 132(9D) of the old Act allowed the authorised officer, subject to the statutory conditions, to make a reference to an approved person/entity or registered valuer for estimating fair market value of property or for specified assistance connected with the search.

The 2023 amendment supplied procedural detail for that reference mechanism. It should therefore be read together with the old Section 132 provisions and the exact text of Notification 70/2023 rather than as a standalone power.

Why this notification was important in 2023

Does Notification 70/2023 govern searches in 2026?

Do not assume that a 2023 rule under the old Act automatically governs a 2026 proceeding in the same form. India moved to the Income-tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026 from 1 April 2026. Current proceedings must therefore be examined under the present statute, current rules, and the relevant repeal, transition and savings provisions.

This article is retained because older assessments, search records, litigation and professional research may still require an understanding of the law that applied when the 2023 notification was issued.

How to use this page today

• Use it to understand the historical 2023 search/valuation procedure.
• Use the original notification when reviewing an old search record or litigation issue.
• Do not cite the old rule as the sole authority for a new 2026 action without checking current law.
• When advising on a live matter, compare the old provision with the corresponding Income-tax Act, 2025 and Income-tax Rules, 2026 provisions.

Common mistakes

• Spelling the amendment “Ninteenth” instead of Nineteenth.
• Treating Notification 70/2023 as a general tax-compliance checklist.
• Ignoring that it was issued under the old Income-tax Act, 1961 / Rules, 1962 framework.
• Assuming every current search/valuation procedure is unchanged after 1 April 2026.
• Quoting the notification without reading the relevant Section 132 provisions that gave it context.

Frequently asked questions

Official reference

• Income Tax Department — Notification No. 70/2023, Income-tax (Nineteenth Amendment) Rules, 2023