India Tax Department’s Plan to Use Digi Yatra App Data Disputed by Platform

India’s tax department has announced plans to use data from the Digi Yatra facial recognition app to enhance tax compliance monitoring. The Digi Yatra app, which has surpassed 9 million active users, was developed under the civil aviation ministry’s initiative to enable paperless air travel through biometric identification and verification of passengers.

The tax department has gained access to passenger data captured through the Digi Yatra app and plans to cross-reference this information with tax filings to identify potential discrepancies in declared income. The department’s strategy will first target individuals who have not filed tax returns, followed by those suspected of under-reporting income.

The tax department expects to begin issuing notices based on Digi Yatra data in 2025. Officials will focus particularly on frequent or high-value travelers, especially those making international trips, whose reported earnings may not match their travel expenditures.

“Digi Yatra data offers a promising alternative to previous attempts at gathering travel data through airline loyalty programs, which faced limitations due to privacy considerations,” said Rajat Mohan, senior partner at AMRG & Associates. The system’s implementation has been supported by major technology providers, including IDEMIA, which serves as a key technology partner in the airport transformation program.

In response to the tax department’s announcement, Digi Yatra has labeled these claims as false. The organization emphasizes that it operates on a Self-Sovereign Identity model, where personal information and travel credentials are stored exclusively on users’ devices rather than in a central repository. The model follows current trends in decentralized identity management, which prioritizes user control over personal data. Digi Yatra states that no mechanism exists for sharing data with third parties, and no Memorandum of Understanding has been established between the Digi Yatra Foundation and the Income Tax Department.

The app’s privacy architecture specifies that facial recognition information is stored locally on passengers’ devices, and all data is permanently deleted if the app is uninstalled. These security measures address privacy concerns raised by air travelers regarding data collection and storage practices, following guidelines similar to those established by the World Economic Forum’s ethical framework for biometric facial recognition in air travel.

The implementation of Digi Yatra is part of a broader digital transformation of India’s aviation sector, with SITA deploying biometric solutions across nine Indian airports to support the initiative’s expansion. The development comes as global aviation authorities increasingly adopt biometric verification systems to enhance security and streamline passenger processing.

Sources: The New Indian Express, CyberPeace

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December 30, 2024 – by the ID Tech Editorial Team