I-T DEPT TAPPING PHONES IN EXCEPTIONAL CASES

The Finance Ministry has said it does tap telephones in exceptional cases to unearth tax evasion but denied eavesdropping on routine corporate calls.Phone interception is done only in very exceptional and the rarest of cases after obtaining due authorization from the appropriate authority. It also said telephone interception was not being used for routinely tapping corporate conversations or keeping a tab on top bracket taxpayers. The statement was issued following certain media reports, which said the investigation wing of Income Tax (IT) Department was tapping corporate conversations over the past some time.