Section 389 — Appeal. Successor to s.245W of the 1961 Act.
Section 389 is in Chapter XVIII — Appeals Revisions and Alternate Dispute Resolutions, which runs from section 356 to section 389.
Sub-section (1) creates an appeal to the High Court against a ruling pronounced or an order passed by the Board for Advance Rulings. It may be brought by the applicant, if aggrieved, or by the Assessing Officer on the directions of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, and must be filed within sixty days from the date of communication of that ruling or order, in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
Sub-section (2) allows the High Court, on an application by the appellant, to grant a further period of thirty days where it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the appeal within the sub-section (1) period.
An advance ruling settles a question before the transaction is taxed, so a challenge to it goes straight to the High Court rather than through the ordinary appellate chain. Giving the right to both the applicant and the Assessing Officer, on direction, keeps the ruling reviewable from either side, and the tightly bounded extension preserves the speed the advance ruling route exists for.
| What | Figure | The condition on it | Where |
|---|---|---|---|
| Time to file the appeal to the High Court | Sixty days | Reckoned from the date of communication of the ruling or order, not from its date | Sub-section (1) |
| Further period the High Court may grant | Thirty days | On an application by the appellant, where the Court is satisfied he was prevented by sufficient cause from filing within the sixty days | Sub-section (2) |
The two periods are separate and cumulative, and both are hard: sixty days from communication, plus at most thirty more that the High Court may allow on an application showing sufficient cause. The section gives no residual power beyond that ninety days. The clock starts on communication, not on pronouncement, so the record of when the ruling reached the appellant is what has to be preserved. The Department's right is not free-standing either — it depends on the directions of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner.
A ruling is communicated to the applicant on 1 June. The appeal must reach the High Court within sixty days of that date. Filed on the seventieth day it is out of time unless the applicant applies under sub-section (2) and satisfies the Court that sufficient cause prevented timely filing — and even then the Court's power runs to a further thirty days only, so a filing on the ninety-fifth day is beyond saving on the words of the section.
You meet it on receiving a ruling or order of the Board for Advance Rulings — the date of communication starts the sixty-day clock — and again if the Department appeals it on the directions of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner. The form and manner are left to be prescribed.
may appeal to the High Court against such ruling or order of the Board for Advance Rulings within sixty days from the date of the communication of that ruling or order
it may grant further period of thirty days for filing such appeal
See the full 1961 to 2025 concordance.
All of them are in the Rules 2026 index.
See the notifications index.