Income Tax Department
Ministry of Finance, Government of India
Income-tax Authorities
Introduction
The Central Government is empowered to appoint various Income-tax authorities and delegate powers to them under the Income-tax Act. These authorities shall exercise all or any of the powers conferred on them and perform all or any of the functions assigned to them by or under the Income-tax Act.
Hierarchy and Appointment of Authorities
Hierarchy and Appointment of Authorities
The Income-tax hierarchy includes:
(a) CBDT
(b) Principal DGIT/PCIT
(c) DGIT/CCIT
(d) Principal DIT/PCIT
(e) DIT/CIT/CIT(A)
(f) Addl. DIT/ACIT/ACIT(A)
(g) JDIT/JCIT/JCIT(A)
(h) DDIT/DCIT/DCIT(A)
(i) ADIT/ACIT
(j) ITO, TRO, and Inspectors
Appointment of the Income-tax authorities can be made by:
(a) The Central Government, directly
(b) Authorised authorities (i.e. CBDT, PDGIT, DGIT, PCCIT, CCIT, PDIT, DIT, PCIT, CIT), for appointment of Income-tax authorities below the rank of ACIT/DCIT
(c) CBDT-authorised officers, for the appointment of executive/ministerial staff to assist
The CBDT may determine subordination among authorities and issue directions for the proper administration of the Income-tax Act. However, it cannot direct assessment outcomes or interfere with appellate discretion.
Directions by CBDT
CBDT may issue general or special orders to ensure effective tax administration, covering:
(a) Relaxation of specified provisions (e.g., Sections 139, 143, 144, 147, 148, 154, 155, 158BFA, 201(1A), 210, 211, 234A, 234B, 234C, 234E, 234F, 270A, 271C, 271CA, etc.)
(b) Orders may be published via the Official Gazette, trade associations, or displayed at tax offices
It may also:
(a) Condone delay to admit an application or in filing claims for any exemption, deduction, refund or any other relief in deserving cases
(b) Relax procedural conditions for deductions under Chapters IV and VI-A where delay was due to circumstances beyond the assessee’s control and the assessee has complied with such requirement before completion of assessment
Taxpayer’s Charter
CBDT is empowered to declare and enforce a Taxpayer’s Charter and issue necessary administrative instructions.
Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities
Income-tax authorities act as per CBDT directions and may exercise powers and perform the functions of subordinate authorities. The direction may be issued based on criteria such as territorial area, persons or classes of persons, incomes or classes of incomes, or cases or classes of cases. Higher-ranked authorities may concurrently exercise powers of lower ranks if so authorised.
Change in Incumbent
Where an Income-tax authority ceases to exercise jurisdiction in respect of any proceedings and is succeeded by another, a succeeding Income-tax authority may continue proceedings from where the predecessor left off. The assessee may request a re-hearing before the order is passed.
Faceless Jurisdiction
The Central government is empowered to make a scheme to exercise all or any of the powers and perform all or any of the functions, vesting the jurisdiction with the AO, exercising the power to transfer cases, or exercising jurisdiction in case of change of incumbency. Objectives:
(a) Increase transparency and efficiency
(b) Ensure team-based and tech-enabled proceedings
(c) Dynamic jurisdiction through randomised allocation
The Faceless Jurisdiction of Income-tax Authorities Scheme, 2022 (effective 28-03-2022) covers:
(a) Faceless assessments (Section 144B)
(b) Faceless appeals, faceless penalties, e-verification, e-settlement, and e-advance rulings
(c) Automated allocation based on algorithmic tools
Jurisdiction of Assessing Officers
An AO’s jurisdiction is based on the location of the business (principal place in case of multiple establishments), where the person is carrying on business or profession, or the residence of the person in other cases.
Disputes about jurisdiction are resolved by the appropriate higher authority (i.e. PDGIT/DGIT/PCCIT/CCIT/PCIT/CIT) or the CBDT. Once a return is filed or a notice served, jurisdiction cannot be questioned except as per specified timelines and conditions.
Transfer of Case
The competent authority (e.g., PDGIT/DGIT/PCCIT/CCIT/PCIT/CIT) may transfer cases between AOs with or without concurrent jurisdiction.
(a) Hearing opportunity must be given unless AOs are in the same city.
(b) CBDT intervenes if authorities disagree on the transfer.
(c) Transfer can be made at any stage without reissuing fresh notices.
Income-tax Rules
Rule – 111B
Publication and circulation of Board’s order.
111B. Any general or special order of the Board issued under clause (a) of sub- section (2) of section 119, the publication and circulation of which is, in the opinion of the Board, necessary in the public interest, shall be published and circulated in one or more of the following modes, namely :—
(i) publication of the order in the Official Gazette;
(ii) despatching copies of the order to Chambers of Commerce and other trade or professional associations which are, for the time being, borne on the mailing list of the Board;
(iii) displaying copies of the order on the notice board of the office of every Chief Commissioner or Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and Assessing Officer.
Rule – 127
54[Service of notice, summons, requisition, order and other communication.
127. (1) For the purposes of sub-section (1) of section 282, the addresses (including the address for electronic mail or electronic mail message) to which a notice or summons or requisition or order or any other communication under the Act (hereafter in this rule referred to as “communication”) may be delivered or transmitted shall be as per sub-rule (2).
(2) The addresses referred to in sub-rule (1) shall be—
(a) for communications delivered or transmitted in the manner provided in clause (a) or clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 282—
(i) the address available in the PAN database of the addressee; or
(ii) the address available in the income-tax return to which the communication relates; or
(iii) the address available in the last income-tax return furnished by the addressee; or
(iv) in the case of addressee being a company, address of registered office as available on the website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs:
Provided that the communication shall not be delivered or transmitted to the address mentioned in items (i) to (iv) where the addressee furnishes in writing any other address for the purposes of communication to the income-tax authority or any person authorised by such authority issuing the communication:
55[Provided further that where the communication cannot be delivered or transmitted to the address mentioned in items (i) to (iv) or any other address furnished by the addressee as referred to in first proviso, the communication shall be delivered or transmitted to the following address:—
(i) the address of the assessee as available with a banking company or a co-operative bank to which the Banking Regulation Act, 1949 (10 of 1949) applies (including any bank or banking institution referred to in section 51 of the said Act); or
(ii) the address of the assessee as available with the Post Master General as referred to in clause (j) of section 2 of the Indian Post Office Act, 1898 (6 of 1898); or
(iii) the address of the assessee as available with the insurer as defined in clause (9) of section 2 of the Insurance Act, 1938 (4 of 1938); or
(iv) the address of the assessee as furnished in Form No. 61 to the Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) or to the Joint Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) under sub-rule (1) of rule 114D; or
(v) the address of the assessee as furnished in Form No. 61A under sub-rule (1) of rule 114E to the Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation) or to the Joint Director of Income-tax (Intelligence and Criminal Investigation); or
(vi) the address of the assessee as available in the records of the Government; or
(vii) the address of the assessee as available in the records of a local authority as referred to in the Explanation below clause (20) of section 10 of the Act;]
(b) for communications delivered or transmitted electronically—
(i) email address available in the income-tax return furnished by the addressee to which the communication relates; or
(ii) the email address available in the last income-tax return furnished by the addressee; or
(iii) in the case of addressee being a company, email address of the company as available on the website of Ministry of Corporate Affairs; or
(iv) any email address made available by the addressee to the income-tax authority or any person authorised by such income-tax authority.
(3) The Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or the Director General of Income-tax (Systems) shall specify the procedure, formats and standards for ensuring secure transmission of electronic communication and shall also be responsible for formulating and implementing appropriate security, archival and retrieval policies in relation to such communication.]
Notes:
54. Inserted by the IT (Eighteenth Amdt.) Rules, 2015, w.e.f. 2-12-2015.
55. Inserted by the IT (Twenty-fifth Amdt.) Rules, 2017, w.e.f. 20-12-2017.
Rule – 127A
56[Authentication of notices and other documents.
127A. (1) Every notice or other document communicated in electronic form by an income-tax authority under the Act shall be deemed to be authenticated,—
(a) in case of electronic mail or electronic mail message (hereinafter referred to as the e-mail), if the name and office of such income-tax authority—
(i) is printed on the e-mail body, if the notice or other document is in the e-mail body itself; or
(ii) is printed on the attachment to the e-mail, if the notice or other document is in the attachment, and the e-mail is issued from the designated e-mail address of such income-tax authority;
(b) in case of an electronic record, if the name and office of the income-tax authority—
(i) is displayed as a part of the electronic record, if the notice or other document is contained as text or remark in the electronic record itself; or
(ii) is printed on the attachment in the electronic record, if the notice or other document is in the attachment,
and such electronic record is displayed on the designated website.
(2) The Principal Director General of Income-tax (Systems) or the Director General of Income-tax (Systems) shall specify the designated e-mail address of the income-tax authority, the designated website and the procedure, formats and standards for ensuring authenticity of the communication.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this rule, the expressions—
(i) “electronic mail” and “electronic mail message” shall have the same meanings respectively assigned to them in Explanation to section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000);
(ii) “electronic record” shall have the same meaning as assigned to it in clause (t) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (21 of 2000).]
Note:
56. Inserted by the IT (Third Amdt.) Rules, 2017, w.e.f. 23-3-2017.
