DIN under Income Tax Act, 1961 (CBDT Circular 19/2019 dated 14th August 2019): CBDT has issued a notification on dated 14th August 2019 and directed by exercising its power u/s 119 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 that “No Communication shall be issued by any income tax authority to the assessee or any other person, on or after the 1st day of October, 2019 unless a computer-generated Document Identification Number (DIN) has been allotted and is duly quoted in the body of such communication”
Page Contents
- 1. Why such an action is taken by CBDT?
- 2. Are there any exception to this notification in safeguard of authorities because it is not possible to apply this notification at every place?
- 3. What happens if Income Tax Authority issued manual communication and how assessee should treat it?
- 4. Can non-issuance of DIN becomes valid after invoking section 292B of the Income Tax Act, 1961?
- 5. How can assessee/other person can check the authenticity of the communication/notices/order?
1. Why such an action is taken by CBDT?
CBDT had found some instances wherein some Income Tax Authorities were issuing communications to assessee/other person manually inspite of using Income Tax Business Application (ITBA) Platform so to maintain the transparency and to keep the audit trail of the communication, it is mandatory for the Income Tax Authority to mention DIN on the communication which is to be sent to the assessee/other person.
Yes, there are Five (5) exceptions to this rule:
| S. No | Exceptions where Communication without DIN can be sent | Conditions to fulfill by Income Tax Authority | Additional Conditions after issuance of Communication without DIN to IT Authority |
| 1. | Technical Difficulty in generating/allotting/ quoting the DIN and issuance/ communication electronically | Income Tax Authority have to
√ Take Prior Approval from Chief Commissioner/DGIT √ And then record reasons in writing. √ *Reason for Delay in PAN Migration √ Issue Manual Communication adding the relevant para stating in the format prescribed in CBDT Circular 19/2019
|
Manual Communication in all first three cases, shall have to be regularised within 15 working days of its issuance by:
A) Uploading the Manual Communication in System B) Generating the DIN on System C) Communicate the DIN to assessee/other person as per system pro-forma. |
| 2. | Income Tax Authority is out of office for official duty | ||
| 3. | Delay in PAN Migration* | ||
| 4. | PAN of assessee is not available and proceedings are initiated (except section 131 and 133) | NA | |
| 5. | Functionality to issue communication is not available in the system | Intimation of issuance of manual communication shall be sent to the Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) within Seven (7) days from the date of its issuance stating the reasons mentioned in point 5. |
“ This communication issues manually without a DIN on account of reason/reasons given in para 3 (i)/3(iI)/3 (iii)/3 (iv)/3 (v) of the CBDT Circular No … dated …. . (strike off those which are not applicable) and with the approval oJ the Chief Commissioner / Director General oj Income Tax vide number …. dated …. “
3. What happens if Income Tax Authority issued manual communication and how assessee should treat it?
Any such communication which is not complied with the CBDT circular 19/2019 shall be treated as Invalid and shall be deemed to have never been issued (thus, it will be null and void and can be ignored). Following case laws are also in favour of this CBDT Circular:
1. Prtatap Singh Yadav Vs DCIT (ITAT Delhi); ITA No. 1898/Del/2022; 30/05/2023; 2016-17
2. Kimberly Clark India Pvt. Ltd Vs DCIT (ITAT Pune); ITA No. 1950/PUN/2019
3. Mahesh Kumar Sureka Vs PCIT (ITAT Kolkata); I.T.A No. 106/Kol/2021
4. CIT vs Brandix Mauritius Holdings Ltd (Delhi HC)
5. Rama Pashu Aahar (P) Ltd., Bulandshahr V. ACIT, CC-14, New Delhi
4. Can non-issuance of DIN becomes valid after invoking section 292B of the Income Tax Act, 1961?
Delhi High Court in the case of “CIT vs BRANDIX MAURITIUS HOLDINGS LTD” clearly denied the fact and held that absence of DIN was not a mere defect in form but a crucial procedural safeguard that had been mandated by the CBDT Circular No. 19/2019 therefore section 292B of the Act, cannot be invoked.
5. How can assessee/other person can check the authenticity of the communication/notices/order?
Please check the below link to get the answers or send an email at duacabhawna@gmail.com https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/help/how-to-authenticate-notice
Conclusion: CBDT Circular has a binding impact on issuance of any communication made by Income Tax Authorities, non compliance of which shall lead to all the proceedings invalid. Therefore Income Tax Authorities must adhere such communications which are issued time to time by Board.
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