Section 529 of the Income-tax Act, 2025

Section 529 — Power to withdraw approval. Successor to s.293C of the 1961 Act.

Where this section sits

Section 529 is in Chapter XXIII — Miscellaneous, which runs from section 499 to section 536.

What this section does

The section provides that where the Central Government, the Board or an income-tax authority has power under any provision of the Act to grant an approval to an assessee, that authority may withdraw the approval at any time after recording the reasons for doing so, even if the provision under which it was granted does not specifically allow withdrawal, and after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard.

Why it is there

Approvals are granted on a state of facts that can change or turn out to have been misrepresented, and many granting provisions say nothing about taking an approval back. Rather than leaving each to be argued over, the section supplies a general power of withdrawal, subject to two safeguards made part of the power itself: reasons on record, and a hearing.

Who it applies to

An assessee holding an approval granted under any provision of the Act
The Central Government, the Board or an income-tax authority that granted the approval

What this means in practice

The power belongs to the same authority that has the power to grant, and it is exercisable "even if such provision does not specifically allow for its withdrawal", so silence in the granting section is not an answer. Two conditions are built in rather than left to general principle — reasons recorded, and a reasonable opportunity of being heard — so a withdrawal made without either is not made in accordance with the section. There is no time limit, and the section says nothing about the date from which a withdrawal takes effect.

An example

Illustrative only, and invented for this page. The figures are chosen to show the rule biting, not taken from any real matter.

An assessee holds an approval granted under a provision that contains no power of withdrawal. The authority may still withdraw it under this section, at any time, provided it records its reasons and gives the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard first. A withdrawal communicated without a hearing, or without reasons on record, does not meet what the section requires.

Where you meet this section

You meet this section as a show-cause proceeding on a proposal to withdraw an approval you hold, and then as the order of withdrawal itself, which must carry the recorded reasons. It is what is relied on where the granting section is silent about withdrawal.

The words themselves

may, withdraw such approval at any time after recording the reasons therefor, even if such provision does not specifically allow for its withdrawal, after giving such assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard

Section 529, Income-tax Act, 2025.

What people get wrong

Arguing that an approval cannot be withdrawn because the granting provision is silent. The section applies even so.
Treating the hearing as optional. A reasonable opportunity of being heard is required before withdrawal.
Overlooking the requirement of recorded reasons.
Assuming another authority may withdraw. The power belongs to the Central Government, the Board or the income-tax authority that has the power to grant the approval.

What this replaced

The correspondence is the Income Tax Department’s own, from its comparison utility for the 1961 and 2025 Acts. A renumbering is the easy half; whether the words changed is the half that decides cases.

293C - Power to withdraw approval

See the full 1961 to 2025 concordance.

What this page does not tell you. It does not reproduce the section. Everything above was written from the section’s own text as the Income Tax Department publishes it — the text is here, and nothing here is advice on your facts. Where a figure matters, read the sub-section it comes from.