The difference between survey,search

Searches under Section 132 of the Income Tax Act were conducted on the premises of Multi-Screen Media MSM,the telecasting agency of IPL,World Sports Group WSG,the marketing agency of IPL,International Management Group IMG,the organising agency,and the Bandra house of Venu Nair,CEO of WSG.

While surveys are conducted under Section 133 A of the Income Tax Act and should start during normal business hours,searches can be conducted any time of the day. A search is ordered by a director,Investigation,or a commissioner-level officer and conducted by an assistant director who heads the team,while a survey can be ordered by a junior I-T officer also and can be done by an inspector.

During survey,IT officials look into documents such as books of account,bank accounts,cash,stock and non-valuable documents. Originals are normally returned.

However,wherever searches have been conducted,I-T officials have impounded documents,valuables,computers and information prima facie is believed to have not been disclosed.

Another twist to the unravelling IPL story is the routing of funds from tax havens. I-T officials will invoke the Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement DTAA with countries like Mauritius and Dubai. However,with countries not having a DTAA with India,the department would need a go-ahead from the Ministry of External Affairs,which could be a long-drawn process.