IT department called the news of catching tax evaders at the airport through DigiYatra false

New Delhi. The Income Tax Department has clarified the rumors about DigiYatra, a platform that makes the investigation process easier at the airport through face recognition technology. Earlier, many reports were claiming that preparations are underway to crack down on tax evaders through the face recognition data of the DigiYatra platform. Now the Income Tax Department has clarified that such news is false. The department has said that no such step has been taken.

In a post made from its official handle on the social media platform X, the Income Tax Department said, “It has been observed that many news articles have been published stating that DigiYatra data will be used to crack down on tax evaders. In this regard, it is clarified that no such step has been taken by the Income Tax Department.” Passenger consent is necessary for DigiYatra

It is worth noting that DigiYatra uses facial recognition technology to ease the process of passengers at airports. This helps in reducing waiting time and also provides convenience to the passengers. However, the government has clarified that unless the passenger consents to this facility, facial biometrics will not be activated and added to the DigiYatra system. Recently, reports claimed that the Income Tax Department will identify tax evaders using the data collected through the DigiYatra platform and action will be taken against them later.

Available only for domestic air travel
DigiYatra CEO Suresh Khadkabhavi denied these reports. He dismissed such reports in a post on LinkedIn. He wrote, “These claims about misuse of DigiYatra data based on unknown sources are false. It is important to clarify that DigiYatra works without storing any personal information (PII). This ensures that no database will be leaked to protect the privacy of users.” The post further said, “The claim that the department is collecting passenger data both international and domestic is false. Digi Yatra is currently available only for domestic air travel. Apart from this, without a central database, no department can access any data.”