Can an assessee appeal against an addition he agreed to during the assessment?
The Punjab & Haryana High Court held that an assessee's agreement to an addition recorded in the assessment order does not take away the statutory right of appeal. The remedy of appeal can be availed of notwithstanding the recital of consent, because the Act contains no bar founded on agreement.
Decided by the High Court on 1978, reported as (1979) 115 ITR 694 (Punjab & Haryana); TS-5917-HC-1978(Punjab & Haryana). It bears on section 246A, section 249 of the Income Tax Act 1961, in Appeals and Assessment & Scrutiny matters.
Binding within that High Court's jurisdiction. Persuasive elsewhere.
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The assessment order recorded that the addition had been made with the assessee's agreement. The assessee nevertheless appealed. The Revenue contended that having consented, the assessee could not thereafter dispute the addition in appeal. The Court examined whether the statutory right of appeal against an assessment could be defeated by such a recital.
The remedy of appeal under the appeal provision can be availed of by the assessee even where the assessment order records that the addition was agreed to. A statutory right of appeal is not lost by consent, there being no provision in the Act that withdraws it in such a case.
The right of appeal is conferred by statute and can be taken away only by statute. Nothing in the appeal provisions makes the assessee's concurrence a disqualification. Consent recorded during assessment is often given in circumstances of pressure or expediency and is not a considered waiver of a statutory remedy. What effect the agreement has is a matter that goes to the merits before the appellate authority, not to the maintainability of the appeal.
remedy of appeal u/s 246(1)(c) can be availed of by assessee
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Handle my notice → Ask a CA on WhatsAppThe Punjab & Haryana High Court held that an assessee's agreement to an addition recorded in the assessment order does not take away the statutory right of appeal. The remedy of appeal can be availed of notwithstanding the recital of consent, because the Act contains no bar founded on agreement. This was decided by the High Court and bears on section 246A, section 249 of the Income Tax Act 1961. It is reported as (1979) 115 ITR 694 (Punjab & Haryana); TS-5917-HC-1978(Punjab & Haryana). If it applies to you, the first step is this: If the assessment order says the addition was 'agreed', file the appeal anyway and deal with the recital as a merits point.
The assessment order recorded that the addition had been made with the assessee's agreement. The assessee nevertheless appealed. The Revenue contended that having consented, the assessee could not thereafter dispute the addition in appeal. The Court examined whether the statutory right of appeal against an assessment could be defeated by such a recital. The matter was decided on 1978 by the High Court. On those facts the High Court held as follows. The remedy of appeal under the appeal provision can be availed of by the assessee even where the assessment order records that the addition was agreed to. A statutory right of appeal is not lost by consent, there being no provision in the Act that withdraws it in such a case.
The right of appeal is conferred by statute and can be taken away only by statute. Nothing in the appeal provisions makes the assessee's concurrence a disqualification. Consent recorded during assessment is often given in circumstances of pressure or expediency and is not a considered waiver of a statutory remedy. What effect the agreement has is a matter that goes to the merits before the appellate authority, not to the maintainability of the appeal. In the words reproduced by the source cited on this page: "remedy of appeal u/s 246(1)(c) can be availed of by assessee"
It was decided by the High Court on 1978 and is reported as (1979) 115 ITR 694 (Punjab & Haryana); TS-5917-HC-1978(Punjab & Haryana). Binding within that High Court's jurisdiction. Persuasive elsewhere. A High Court decision binds the assessing officer, the Commissioner (Appeals) and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal within that state, and is persuasive elsewhere. If your assessment is in a different jurisdiction, check whether your own High Court has taken the same view before relying on it. On section 246A, section 249, the practical question is whether the facts of your own notice match the facts of this case closely enough for the same rule to apply.
It cuts both ways and is cited by both sides. The remedy of appeal under the appeal provision can be availed of by the assessee even where the assessment order records that the addition was agreed to. A statutory right of appeal is not lost by consent, there being no provision in the Act that withdraws it in such a case. It arises in Appeals and Assessment & Scrutiny matters, on section 246A, section 249 of the Income Tax Act 1961. Before relying on it, read the source linked on this page and check whether it has since been distinguished, overruled or overtaken by an amendment to the Income Tax Act. In practice the steps that follow from it are these. Put on record contemporaneously - by letter to the AO - that no agreement was given, or the circumstances in which it was given, because the recital is what the Revenue will rely on. Where the agreement was given by an authorised representative rather than the assessee personally, say so: at least one bench has treated that as leaving the right of appeal untouched. Expect the Revenue to cite contrary High Court authority; address it head-on rather than assuming the point is settled. Do not assume an agreed addition automatically escapes penalty - the authorities are split on that too, so argue the penalty separately.
Still good law. A separate check on conflicting authority found the position genuinely split: Sahu & Co (Orissa), Sterling Machine Tools (Allahabad) and Ramanlal Kamdar (Madras) take the view that a matter once agreed cannot be reopened by appeal, while Chhat Mull Aggarwal (P&H) holds the statutory right of appeal survives. Practitioner commentary treats maintainability as turning on the facts of each case. That finding was checked against a published source, which is linked on this page, on 2026-08-19. Checking whether an authority still stands matters as much as knowing what it held: a decision may be overruled on one point and survive on another, or the provision it interprets may have been amended since. Read the source and the editor's note on this page before relying on it in a reply to an Assessing Officer or in an appeal.
The remedy of appeal under the appeal provision can be availed of by the assessee even where the assessment order records that the addition was agreed to. A statutory right of appeal is not lost by consent, there being no provision in the Act that withdraws it in such a case.
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