What are the time limits, forms and fees for an appeal under the Black Money Act, and where do they differ from the Income-tax Act?
An appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) lies under s.15(1) against the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income or assets, against liability to be assessed under the Act, against a penalty, and against a rectification order or a refusal to rectify. It is filed in Form 2 with a fee of Rs 10,000 within thirty days, and Rule 6(4) bars admission unless the tax with penalty and interest on the liability not objected to has been paid. An appeal to the Tribunal lies within sixty days in Form 3 with a fee of Rs 25,000, with cross-objections in Form 4 within thirty days. An appeal to the High Court on a substantial question of law lies within 120 days. The critical departure from the Income-tax Act is that the power to condone delay is capped: one year before the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15(4) and one year before the Tribunal under s.18(5), where ss.249(3) and 253(5) of the Income-tax Act contain no such ceiling.
Decided by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions (Not applicable — statutory text) on 2015-07-01, reported as Act No. 22 of 2015; the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Rules, 2015. It bears on section BMA s.15, section BMA s.15(1), section BMA s.15(3), section BMA s.15(4), section BMA s.15(4)(b), section BMA s.16, section BMA s.16(8), section BMA s.17, section BMA s.17(1)(b), section BMA s.17(3), section BMA s.18, section BMA s.18(3), section BMA s.18(4), section BMA s.18(5), section BMA s.18(5)(b), section BMA s.18(7), section BMA s.19, section BMA Rule 6, section BMA Rule 6(4), section BMA Rule 7, section 246A, section 249(2), section 249(3), section 253, section 253(5), section 254, section 254(2), section 260A of the Income Tax Act 1961, in Appeals, How Tax Law Is Read and Penalty matters.
The whole appeal structure differs from the Income-tax Act in ways that decide cases before the merits are reached: an absolute one-year limit on condonation, a mandatory pre-deposit of the unobjected liability, fees an order of magnitude higher, and different forms. An appeal filed as if s.246A and s.253 applied will be rejected.
Binding on the department, not on the assessee or the courts. An assessee may rely on a circular that is beneficial to them.
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Section 15(1) gives an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) to any person objecting to the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income and assets, to his liability to be assessed under the Act, to a penalty imposed, to a rectification order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund, and to a refusal to allow a claim for rectification. Section 15(2) requires the appeal to be in the prescribed form, verified in the prescribed manner and accompanied by the prescribed fee; Rule 6(1) prescribes Form 2, Rule 6(2) requires verification by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act, Rule 6(3) fixes the fee at Rs 10,000 and Rule 6(4) provides that no appeal shall be admitted unless at the time of filing the assessee has paid the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to. Section 15(3) gives thirty days from service of the notice of demand in the case of an assessment or penalty and from service of the intimation of the order in any other case. Section 15(4) permits a late appeal only where there was sufficient cause and the delay does not exceed one year. Section 15(5) empowers the Commissioner (Appeals) to pass such orders as he thinks fit, including enhancement, after a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Section 16 sets out the procedure: fixing a date and place and notice to the appellant and the Assessing Officer (16(1)), the right of both to be heard in person or by representative (16(2)), adjournment (16(3)), further inquiry (16(4)), a direction to the Assessing Officer to inquire and report (16(5)), leave to take a ground not in the memorandum where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable (16(6)), a written order stating the points for determination, the decision and the reasons (16(7)), disposal within one financial year so far as possible (16(8)) and communication of the order (16(9)). Section 17 sets out the powers: in an appeal against an assessment to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul (17(1)(a)); in an appeal against a penalty order to confirm or cancel (17(1)(b)); in any other case to determine the issues and pass such orders as he thinks fit (17(1)(c)); to consider and decide any matter not considered by the Assessing Officer (17(2)); no enhancement of an assessment or a penalty without an opportunity of being heard (17(3)); and power to consider any matter arising out of the proceedings even if not raised by the appellant (17(4)). Section 18(1) gives an appeal to the Tribunal against an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15 or of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under any provision of the Act; s.18(2) allows the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to direct the Assessing Officer to appeal; s.18(3) fixes sixty days from communication; s.18(4) allows cross-objections within thirty days of notice of the other side's appeal, to be disposed of as if an appeal in time; s.18(5) allows admission after time only where there was sufficient cause and the delay does not exceed one year; s.18(6) requires the prescribed form, verification and fee, except for a departmental appeal under s.18(2) or cross-objections; and s.18(7) provides that in hearing and making an order the Tribunal shall exercise the same powers and follow the procedure as it does under the Income-tax Act. Rule 7 prescribes Form 3 for the appeal, Form 4 for cross-objections and a fee of Rs 25,000. Section 19(1) gives an appeal to the High Court from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal where the case involves a substantial question of law, to be filed within 120 days of receipt of the order (19(2)(a)) in the form of a memorandum precisely stating the substantial question of law (19(2)(b)), with power to admit after time on sufficient cause (19(3)); the High Court formulates the question (19(4)), hears the appeal on it (19(5)), may hear any other substantial question of law (19(6)), decides the question and delivers judgment with grounds and may award costs (19(7)), may determine an issue not determined or wrongly determined by the Tribunal (19(8)), applies the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (19(9)), and the Assessing Officer gives effect to the order on a certified copy (19(10)).
The statutory position is as follows. An appeal lies to the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15(1) to any person objecting to the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income and assets, to his liability to be assessed under the Act, to a penalty imposed, to a rectification order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund, and to a refusal to allow a claim for rectification. It is presented within thirty days of service of the notice of demand where the appeal is against an assessment or a penalty, and within thirty days of service of the intimation of the order in any other case (s.15(3)); in Form 2 (Rule 6(1)), verified by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act (Rule 6(2)), with a fee of Rs 10,000 (Rule 6(3)). No appeal shall be admitted unless the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to has been paid at the time of filing (Rule 6(4)). A late appeal may be admitted only where sufficient cause is shown and the delay does not exceed one year (s.15(4)). Section 16 governs the procedure - notice of hearing to the appellant and the Assessing Officer, the right of both to be heard, adjournment, further inquiry, a direction to the Assessing Officer to inquire and report, leave to take a ground not in the memorandum where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable, a written order stating the points for determination, the decision and the reasons, disposal within one financial year so far as possible (s.16(8)), and communication of the order. Section 17 fixes the powers: on an appeal against an assessment, to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul (s.17(1)(a)); on an appeal against a penalty order, to confirm or cancel (s.17(1)(b)); in any other case, to determine the issues and pass such orders as he thinks fit (s.17(1)(c)); to consider and decide any matter not considered by the Assessing Officer (s.17(2)); no enhancement of an assessment or a penalty without an opportunity of being heard (s.17(3)); and power to consider any matter arising out of the proceedings though not raised (s.17(4)). An appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal under s.18(1) against an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15 or of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under any provision of the Act, within sixty days of communication (s.18(3)), in Form 3 with a fee of Rs 25,000 (Rule 7(1) and 7(3)); the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may direct the Assessing Officer to appeal (s.18(2)); cross-objections lie in Form 4 within thirty days of receipt of notice of the other side's appeal and carry no fee, and are disposed of as if they were an appeal in time (s.18(4), Rule 7(2)); a late appeal may be admitted only on sufficient cause and only where the delay does not exceed one year (s.18(5)); and in hearing and making an order on an appeal the Tribunal exercises the same powers and follows the same procedure as it does under the Income-tax Act (s.18(7)). An appeal lies to the High Court under s.19(1) from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal where the case involves a substantial question of law, within 120 days of receipt of the order (s.19(2)(a)), by a memorandum precisely stating the substantial question of law (s.19(2)(b)), with power to admit after time on sufficient cause (s.19(3)); the High Court formulates the question, hears the appeal on it, may hear any other substantial question of law, decides it with reasons and may award costs, may determine an issue not determined or wrongly determined by the Tribunal, applies the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, and the Assessing Officer gives effect to the order on a certified copy (ss.19(4) to 19(10)).
The machinery follows ss.246A to 260A of the Income-tax Act in shape but departs from it at three points, and each departure costs appeals rather than improving them. First, condonation is capped. Section 249(3) of the Income-tax Act allows the Commissioner (Appeals) to admit an appeal after time whenever he is satisfied there was sufficient cause, with no outer limit, and s.253(5) is to the same effect before the Tribunal. Sections 15(4) and 18(5) reproduce the sufficient-cause condition and then add a second one: that the delay 'does not exceed a period of one year'. That second condition is not a matter of discretion at all. Beyond a year there is no power to condone, however good the cause and however plainly the delay was nobody's fault. The practical consequence is that a late Black Money Act appeal turns on the computation of the delay rather than on the explanation for it - which is exactly how the only decision on s.15(4) so far located was won. In Dr. Swati Gautam Allahabadia the Tribunal did not condone anything; it held that a period consumed by the first appellate authority was to be excluded from the computation, so that no condonation was needed. Where the delay looks fatal, the argument to look for is an excludable period, not a better excuse. Second, Rule 6(4) makes payment a condition of admission, not of hearing: no appeal 'shall be admitted' unless the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to has been paid 'at the time of filing of the appeal'. The condition is tied to the part of the liability not objected to, so the appellant has to decide before he files how much of the demand he concedes, and pay the tax, the penalty and the interest on that part. Whether an appeal filed without that payment is to be rejected outright or treated as defective and curable has not been decided; the only Black Money Act decision located on Rule 6(4), Prateek Chitkara, records what the rule requires without deciding it. Third, s.17(1) divides the appellate power by the kind of order under appeal. On an assessment the Commissioner (Appeals) may 'confirm, reduce, enhance or annul'; on a penalty order he may only 'confirm or cancel'. Section 17(3) then says he shall not enhance 'an assessment or a penalty' without an opportunity of being heard. On the face of it s.17(1)(b) confers no power to enhance a penalty, and s.17(3), which is a safeguard on the exercise of a power, cannot create one. Nothing has been decided on the point; it is worth taking where a penalty appeal draws a notice of enhancement. Section 18(7) is drawn narrowly. It lends the Tribunal its Income-tax Act powers and procedure 'in hearing and making an order on any appeal under this section'. Whether that carries the whole of s.254, including the rectification power in s.254(2), is not obvious from those words, since rectifying an order already made is not the hearing of an appeal. The Mumbai Bench in Rashesh Manhar Bhansali proceeded on the footing that it does, treating s.18(7) as the rectification power itself. The fees are an order of magnitude above the Income-tax Act's and are fixed in absolute terms rather than graded by the amount in dispute - Rs 10,000 before the Commissioner (Appeals) and Rs 25,000 before the Tribunal, whatever the size of the assessment. Rule 7(3) is confined to appeals under s.18(1), so cross-objections under s.18(4) carry no fee.
the delay in filing the appeal does not exceed a period of one year
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Handle my notice → Ask a CA on WhatsAppAn appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) lies under s.15(1) against the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income or assets, against liability to be assessed under the Act, against a penalty, and against a rectification order or a refusal to rectify. It is filed in Form 2 with a fee of Rs 10,000 within thirty days, and Rule 6(4) bars admission unless the tax with penalty and interest on the liability not objected to has been paid. An appeal to the Tribunal lies within sixty days in Form 3 with a fee of Rs 25,000, with cross-objections in Form 4 within thirty days. An appeal to the High Court on a substantial question of law lies within 120 days. The critical departure from the Income-tax Act is that the power to condone delay is capped: one year before the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15(4) and one year before the Tribunal under s.18(5), where ss.249(3) and 253(5) of the Income-tax Act contain no such ceiling. This was decided by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions (Not applicable — statutory text) and bears on section BMA s.15, section BMA s.15(1), section BMA s.15(3), section BMA s.15(4), section BMA s.15(4)(b), section BMA s.16, section BMA s.16(8), section BMA s.17, section BMA s.17(1)(b), section BMA s.17(3), section BMA s.18, section BMA s.18(3), section BMA s.18(4), section BMA s.18(5), section BMA s.18(5)(b), section BMA s.18(7), section BMA s.19, section BMA Rule 6, section BMA Rule 6(4), section BMA Rule 7, section 246A, section 249(2), section 249(3), section 253, section 253(5), section 254, section 254(2), section 260A of the Income Tax Act 1961. It is reported as Act No. 22 of 2015; the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Rules, 2015. The whole appeal structure differs from the Income-tax Act in ways that decide cases before the merits are reached: an absolute one-year limit on condonation, a mandatory pre-deposit of the unobjected liability, fees an order of magnitude higher, and different forms. An appeal filed as if s.246A and s.253 applied will be rejected. If it applies to you, the first step is this: Count thirty days from service of the notice of demand for an appeal against an assessment or penalty, and from service of the intimation of the order in any other case.
Section 15(1) gives an appeal to the Commissioner (Appeals) to any person objecting to the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income and assets, to his liability to be assessed under the Act, to a penalty imposed, to a rectification order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund, and to a refusal to allow a claim for rectification. Section 15(2) requires the appeal to be in the prescribed form, verified in the prescribed manner and accompanied by the prescribed fee; Rule 6(1) prescribes Form 2, Rule 6(2) requires verification by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act, Rule 6(3) fixes the fee at Rs 10,000 and Rule 6(4) provides that no appeal shall be admitted unless at the time of filing the assessee has paid the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to. Section 15(3) gives thirty days from service of the notice of demand in the case of an assessment or penalty and from service of the intimation of the order in any other case. Section 15(4) permits a late appeal only where there was sufficient cause and the delay does not exceed one year. Section 15(5) empowers the Commissioner (Appeals) to pass such orders as he thinks fit, including enhancement, after a reasonable opportunity of being heard. Section 16 sets out the procedure: fixing a date and place and notice to the appellant and the Assessing Officer (16(1)), the right of both to be heard in person or by representative (16(2)), adjournment (16(3)), further inquiry (16(4)), a direction to the Assessing Officer to inquire and report (16(5)), leave to take a ground not in the memorandum where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable (16(6)), a written order stating the points for determination, the decision and the reasons (16(7)), disposal within one financial year so far as possible (16(8)) and communication of the order (16(9)). Section 17 sets out the powers: in an appeal against an assessment to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul (17(1)(a)); in an appeal against a penalty order to confirm or cancel (17(1)(b)); in any other case to determine the issues and pass such orders as he thinks fit (17(1)(c)); to consider and decide any matter not considered by the Assessing Officer (17(2)); no enhancement of an assessment or a penalty without an opportunity of being heard (17(3)); and power to consider any matter arising out of the proceedings even if not raised by the appellant (17(4)). Section 18(1) gives an appeal to the Tribunal against an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15 or of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under any provision of the Act; s.18(2) allows the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to direct the Assessing Officer to appeal; s.18(3) fixes sixty days from communication; s.18(4) allows cross-objections within thirty days of notice of the other side's appeal, to be disposed of as if an appeal in time; s.18(5) allows admission after time only where there was sufficient cause and the delay does not exceed one year; s.18(6) requires the prescribed form, verification and fee, except for a departmental appeal under s.18(2) or cross-objections; and s.18(7) provides that in hearing and making an order the Tribunal shall exercise the same powers and follow the procedure as it does under the Income-tax Act. Rule 7 prescribes Form 3 for the appeal, Form 4 for cross-objections and a fee of Rs 25,000. Section 19(1) gives an appeal to the High Court from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal where the case involves a substantial question of law, to be filed within 120 days of receipt of the order (19(2)(a)) in the form of a memorandum precisely stating the substantial question of law (19(2)(b)), with power to admit after time on sufficient cause (19(3)); the High Court formulates the question (19(4)), hears the appeal on it (19(5)), may hear any other substantial question of law (19(6)), decides the question and delivers judgment with grounds and may award costs (19(7)), may determine an issue not determined or wrongly determined by the Tribunal (19(8)), applies the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (19(9)), and the Assessing Officer gives effect to the order on a certified copy (19(10)). The matter was decided on 2015-07-01 by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions (Not applicable — statutory text). On those facts the CBDT Circulars & Instructions held as follows. The statutory position is as follows. An appeal lies to the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15(1) to any person objecting to the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income and assets, to his liability to be assessed under the Act, to a penalty imposed, to a rectification order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund, and to a refusal to allow a claim for rectification. It is presented within thirty days of service of the notice of demand where the appeal is against an assessment or a penalty, and within thirty days of service of the intimation of the order in any other case (s.15(3)); in Form 2 (Rule 6(1)), verified by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act (Rule 6(2)), with a fee of Rs 10,000 (Rule 6(3)). No appeal shall be admitted unless the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to has been paid at the time of filing (Rule 6(4)). A late appeal may be admitted only where sufficient cause is shown and the delay does not exceed one year (s.15(4)). Section 16 governs the procedure - notice of hearing to the appellant and the Assessing Officer, the right of both to be heard, adjournment, further inquiry, a direction to the Assessing Officer to inquire and report, leave to take a ground not in the memorandum where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable, a written order stating the points for determination, the decision and the reasons, disposal within one financial year so far as possible (s.16(8)), and communication of the order. Section 17 fixes the powers: on an appeal against an assessment, to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul (s.17(1)(a)); on an appeal against a penalty order, to confirm or cancel (s.17(1)(b)); in any other case, to determine the issues and pass such orders as he thinks fit (s.17(1)(c)); to consider and decide any matter not considered by the Assessing Officer (s.17(2)); no enhancement of an assessment or a penalty without an opportunity of being heard (s.17(3)); and power to consider any matter arising out of the proceedings though not raised (s.17(4)). An appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal under s.18(1) against an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15 or of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under any provision of the Act, within sixty days of communication (s.18(3)), in Form 3 with a fee of Rs 25,000 (Rule 7(1) and 7(3)); the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may direct the Assessing Officer to appeal (s.18(2)); cross-objections lie in Form 4 within thirty days of receipt of notice of the other side's appeal and carry no fee, and are disposed of as if they were an appeal in time (s.18(4), Rule 7(2)); a late appeal may be admitted only on sufficient cause and only where the delay does not exceed one year (s.18(5)); and in hearing and making an order on an appeal the Tribunal exercises the same powers and follows the same procedure as it does under the Income-tax Act (s.18(7)). An appeal lies to the High Court under s.19(1) from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal where the case involves a substantial question of law, within 120 days of receipt of the order (s.19(2)(a)), by a memorandum precisely stating the substantial question of law (s.19(2)(b)), with power to admit after time on sufficient cause (s.19(3)); the High Court formulates the question, hears the appeal on it, may hear any other substantial question of law, decides it with reasons and may award costs, may determine an issue not determined or wrongly determined by the Tribunal, applies the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, and the Assessing Officer gives effect to the order on a certified copy (ss.19(4) to 19(10)).
The machinery follows ss.246A to 260A of the Income-tax Act in shape but departs from it at three points, and each departure costs appeals rather than improving them. First, condonation is capped. Section 249(3) of the Income-tax Act allows the Commissioner (Appeals) to admit an appeal after time whenever he is satisfied there was sufficient cause, with no outer limit, and s.253(5) is to the same effect before the Tribunal. Sections 15(4) and 18(5) reproduce the sufficient-cause condition and then add a second one: that the delay 'does not exceed a period of one year'. That second condition is not a matter of discretion at all. Beyond a year there is no power to condone, however good the cause and however plainly the delay was nobody's fault. The practical consequence is that a late Black Money Act appeal turns on the computation of the delay rather than on the explanation for it - which is exactly how the only decision on s.15(4) so far located was won. In Dr. Swati Gautam Allahabadia the Tribunal did not condone anything; it held that a period consumed by the first appellate authority was to be excluded from the computation, so that no condonation was needed. Where the delay looks fatal, the argument to look for is an excludable period, not a better excuse. Second, Rule 6(4) makes payment a condition of admission, not of hearing: no appeal 'shall be admitted' unless the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to has been paid 'at the time of filing of the appeal'. The condition is tied to the part of the liability not objected to, so the appellant has to decide before he files how much of the demand he concedes, and pay the tax, the penalty and the interest on that part. Whether an appeal filed without that payment is to be rejected outright or treated as defective and curable has not been decided; the only Black Money Act decision located on Rule 6(4), Prateek Chitkara, records what the rule requires without deciding it. Third, s.17(1) divides the appellate power by the kind of order under appeal. On an assessment the Commissioner (Appeals) may 'confirm, reduce, enhance or annul'; on a penalty order he may only 'confirm or cancel'. Section 17(3) then says he shall not enhance 'an assessment or a penalty' without an opportunity of being heard. On the face of it s.17(1)(b) confers no power to enhance a penalty, and s.17(3), which is a safeguard on the exercise of a power, cannot create one. Nothing has been decided on the point; it is worth taking where a penalty appeal draws a notice of enhancement. Section 18(7) is drawn narrowly. It lends the Tribunal its Income-tax Act powers and procedure 'in hearing and making an order on any appeal under this section'. Whether that carries the whole of s.254, including the rectification power in s.254(2), is not obvious from those words, since rectifying an order already made is not the hearing of an appeal. The Mumbai Bench in Rashesh Manhar Bhansali proceeded on the footing that it does, treating s.18(7) as the rectification power itself. The fees are an order of magnitude above the Income-tax Act's and are fixed in absolute terms rather than graded by the amount in dispute - Rs 10,000 before the Commissioner (Appeals) and Rs 25,000 before the Tribunal, whatever the size of the assessment. Rule 7(3) is confined to appeals under s.18(1), so cross-objections under s.18(4) carry no fee. In the words reproduced by the source cited on this page: "the delay in filing the appeal does not exceed a period of one year"
It was decided by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions on 2015-07-01 and is reported as Act No. 22 of 2015; the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Rules, 2015. Binding on the department, not on the assessee or the courts. An assessee may rely on a circular that is beneficial to them. A CBDT circular or instruction binds officers of the department but not the assessee and not the courts. Where a circular helps you, you may hold the department to it. Where it hurts you, it cannot override the Act or a judgment. On section BMA s.15, section BMA s.15(1), section BMA s.15(3), section BMA s.15(4), section BMA s.15(4)(b), section BMA s.16, section BMA s.16(8), section BMA s.17, section BMA s.17(1)(b), section BMA s.17(3), section BMA s.18, section BMA s.18(3), section BMA s.18(4), section BMA s.18(5), section BMA s.18(5)(b), section BMA s.18(7), section BMA s.19, section BMA Rule 6, section BMA Rule 6(4), section BMA Rule 7, section 246A, section 249(2), section 249(3), section 253, section 253(5), section 254, section 254(2), section 260A, 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 statutory position is as follows. An appeal lies to the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15(1) to any person objecting to the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income and assets, to his liability to be assessed under the Act, to a penalty imposed, to a rectification order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund, and to a refusal to allow a claim for rectification. It is presented within thirty days of service of the notice of demand where the appeal is against an assessment or a penalty, and within thirty days of service of the intimation of the order in any other case (s.15(3)); in Form 2 (Rule 6(1)), verified by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act (Rule 6(2)), with a fee of Rs 10,000 (Rule 6(3)). No appeal shall be admitted unless the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to has been paid at the time of filing (Rule 6(4)). A late appeal may be admitted only where sufficient cause is shown and the delay does not exceed one year (s.15(4)). Section 16 governs the procedure - notice of hearing to the appellant and the Assessing Officer, the right of both to be heard, adjournment, further inquiry, a direction to the Assessing Officer to inquire and report, leave to take a ground not in the memorandum where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable, a written order stating the points for determination, the decision and the reasons, disposal within one financial year so far as possible (s.16(8)), and communication of the order. Section 17 fixes the powers: on an appeal against an assessment, to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul (s.17(1)(a)); on an appeal against a penalty order, to confirm or cancel (s.17(1)(b)); in any other case, to determine the issues and pass such orders as he thinks fit (s.17(1)(c)); to consider and decide any matter not considered by the Assessing Officer (s.17(2)); no enhancement of an assessment or a penalty without an opportunity of being heard (s.17(3)); and power to consider any matter arising out of the proceedings though not raised (s.17(4)). An appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal under s.18(1) against an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15 or of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under any provision of the Act, within sixty days of communication (s.18(3)), in Form 3 with a fee of Rs 25,000 (Rule 7(1) and 7(3)); the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may direct the Assessing Officer to appeal (s.18(2)); cross-objections lie in Form 4 within thirty days of receipt of notice of the other side's appeal and carry no fee, and are disposed of as if they were an appeal in time (s.18(4), Rule 7(2)); a late appeal may be admitted only on sufficient cause and only where the delay does not exceed one year (s.18(5)); and in hearing and making an order on an appeal the Tribunal exercises the same powers and follows the same procedure as it does under the Income-tax Act (s.18(7)). An appeal lies to the High Court under s.19(1) from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal where the case involves a substantial question of law, within 120 days of receipt of the order (s.19(2)(a)), by a memorandum precisely stating the substantial question of law (s.19(2)(b)), with power to admit after time on sufficient cause (s.19(3)); the High Court formulates the question, hears the appeal on it, may hear any other substantial question of law, decides it with reasons and may award costs, may determine an issue not determined or wrongly determined by the Tribunal, applies the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, and the Assessing Officer gives effect to the order on a certified copy (ss.19(4) to 19(10)). It arises in Appeals, How Tax Law Is Read and Penalty matters, on section BMA s.15, section BMA s.15(1), section BMA s.15(3), section BMA s.15(4), section BMA s.15(4)(b), section BMA s.16, section BMA s.16(8), section BMA s.17, section BMA s.17(1)(b), section BMA s.17(3), section BMA s.18, section BMA s.18(3), section BMA s.18(4), section BMA s.18(5), section BMA s.18(5)(b), section BMA s.18(7), section BMA s.19, section BMA Rule 6, section BMA Rule 6(4), section BMA Rule 7, section 246A, section 249(2), section 249(3), section 253, section 253(5), section 254, section 254(2), section 260A of the Income Tax Act 1961, and was decided by Not applicable — statutory text. 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. File in Form 2 with the Rs 10,000 fee, verified by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act, and pay the tax with penalty and interest on any part of the liability you are not objecting to before presenting the appeal. If you are late, be in no doubt that s.15(4) allows condonation only where the delay does not exceed one year, and s.18(5) does the same before the Tribunal; beyond that there is no power to condone. Where the delay is beyond a year on its face, look for a period to exclude before you plead sufficient cause. In Dr. Swati Gautam Allahabadia (Mumbai Bench, 14 May 2026) the time the Commissioner (Appeals) took to dispose of an earlier, defectively numbered appeal was excluded as not attributable to the assessee, and no condonation under s.15(4)(b) was needed. Before the Tribunal, file in Form 3 with the Rs 25,000 fee within sixty days, and if the Revenue has appealed, file cross-objections in Form 4 within thirty days of the notice, which carry no fee. For a penalty appeal, note that under s.17(1)(b) the Commissioner (Appeals) may only confirm or cancel the penalty order, and appeal to the High Court under s.19 within 120 days of receipt of the Tribunal's order, stating the substantial question of law in the memorandum.
Searched for later treatment; none was found. That is not the same as a source affirming it. There is very little decided on these sections. Searches on indiankanoon for each of ss.15 to 19 returned, apart from the text of the sections: Dr. Swati Gautam Allahabadia v Addl. CIT (Mumbai Bench, 14 May 2026) on s.15(4); Binoy Kodiyeri (Kerala High Court, 8 October 2025) on s.15 as an alternative remedy; Prateek Chitkara (Delhi High Court, 26 September 2023), which records what Rule 6(4) requires without deciding it; Nikhill Taneja (Delhi High Court, 6 July 2026) on limitation after a writ petition; Krishna Das Agrawal (Rajasthan High Court, 31 March 2022) refusing to stay penalty proceedings pending a s.15 appeal; Sanjay Vijay Shinde v CIT(A)-3 (Madhya Pradesh High Court, 30 October 2023), an adjournment order on a petition invoking s.16(8); Pr. CIT v Abdul Rahiman (Karnataka High Court, 30 July 2026) on the category in which a s.19 appeal is filed; and Rashesh Manhar Bhansali (Mumbai Bench, 28 February 2025) on s.18(7). Dr. Swati Gautam Allahabadia, BMA Nos. 35 and 36/Mum/2026, Vikram Singh Yadav AM and Sandeep Singh Karhail JM, pronounced 14 May 2026, is the one decision found construing s.15(4) in terms. The assessee had appealed in time on 7 March 2022 against an order under s.10(3) but had entered the wrong assessment year; the Commissioner (Appeals) dismissed that appeal as defective on 15 May 2025, a fresh appeal with the correct year was filed on 26 May 2025, and it was dismissed as barred by 1,487 days on the footing that s.15(4)(b) gave no power to condone beyond one year. The Tribunal held that the time taken by the first appellate authority in disposing of the earlier appeal is not attributable to the assessee and is to be excluded, that on that computation no condonation under s.15(4)(b) was required and s.15(4)(b) did not prohibit admission, and it admitted both appeals and remitted them to the Commissioner (Appeals) to be decided on the merits in accordance with law. Nothing was found construing s.18(5) or s.17(1)(b), or deciding the meaning of Rule 6(4); on Rule 6(4) the only Black Money Act result remains Prateek Chitkara. The sections are set out here as they read on the pages opened and have not been checked against a gazetted text for later amendment. No source could be cited for that finding. 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.
This is a note of the statutory position, not a decision. Section 15(1) as it appears on the page read is set out in clauses (a) to (e) in substance rather than verbatim, and the clause lettering used above follows that page. The fee figures and the forms are taken from the Rules as they read on the page opened and should be checked against the current Rules before filing. The two design points made above have no decision on them and are stated as arguments rather than as law: that s.17(1)(b) confers no power to enhance a penalty, and that s.18(7) may not carry s.254(2). An independent reading of the Act and the Rules against this entry confirmed every timeline, form, fee and figure in it, including the key quote from s.18(5)(b), and corrected the validity note, which stated that no decision construing s.15(4) had been found. There is one: Dr. Swati Gautam Allahabadia (Mumbai Bench, 14 May 2026), which construes s.15(4) and s.15(4)(b) expressly and is now set out above. The negatives on s.18(5), s.17(1)(b) and Rule 6(4) were probed separately and stand. This library shows the verification state of every entry openly. This entry has not yet been read in full by a chartered accountant. The summary reflects the sources listed on this page. Read the source before you rely on it in a reply to an Assessing Officer or in an appeal before the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal.
The statutory position is as follows. An appeal lies to the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15(1) to any person objecting to the amount of tax on undisclosed foreign income and assets, to his liability to be assessed under the Act, to a penalty imposed, to a rectification order having the effect of enhancing the assessment or reducing a refund, and to a refusal to allow a claim for rectification. It is presented within thirty days of service of the notice of demand where the appeal is against an assessment or a penalty, and within thirty days of service of the intimation of the order in any other case (s.15(3)); in Form 2 (Rule 6(1)), verified by the person authorised to sign the return under s.140 of the Income-tax Act (Rule 6(2)), with a fee of Rs 10,000 (Rule 6(3)). No appeal shall be admitted unless the tax with penalty and interest on the amount of liability which has not been objected to has been paid at the time of filing (Rule 6(4)). A late appeal may be admitted only where sufficient cause is shown and the delay does not exceed one year (s.15(4)). Section 16 governs the procedure - notice of hearing to the appellant and the Assessing Officer, the right of both to be heard, adjournment, further inquiry, a direction to the Assessing Officer to inquire and report, leave to take a ground not in the memorandum where the omission was not wilful or unreasonable, a written order stating the points for determination, the decision and the reasons, disposal within one financial year so far as possible (s.16(8)), and communication of the order. Section 17 fixes the powers: on an appeal against an assessment, to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul (s.17(1)(a)); on an appeal against a penalty order, to confirm or cancel (s.17(1)(b)); in any other case, to determine the issues and pass such orders as he thinks fit (s.17(1)(c)); to consider and decide any matter not considered by the Assessing Officer (s.17(2)); no enhancement of an assessment or a penalty without an opportunity of being heard (s.17(3)); and power to consider any matter arising out of the proceedings though not raised (s.17(4)). An appeal lies to the Appellate Tribunal under s.18(1) against an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) under s.15 or of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under any provision of the Act, within sixty days of communication (s.18(3)), in Form 3 with a fee of Rs 25,000 (Rule 7(1) and 7(3)); the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may direct the Assessing Officer to appeal (s.18(2)); cross-objections lie in Form 4 within thirty days of receipt of notice of the other side's appeal and carry no fee, and are disposed of as if they were an appeal in time (s.18(4), Rule 7(2)); a late appeal may be admitted only on sufficient cause and only where the delay does not exceed one year (s.18(5)); and in hearing and making an order on an appeal the Tribunal exercises the same powers and follows the same procedure as it does under the Income-tax Act (s.18(7)). An appeal lies to the High Court under s.19(1) from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal where the case involves a substantial question of law, within 120 days of receipt of the order (s.19(2)(a)), by a memorandum precisely stating the substantial question of law (s.19(2)(b)), with power to admit after time on sufficient cause (s.19(3)); the High Court formulates the question, hears the appeal on it, may hear any other substantial question of law, decides it with reasons and may award costs, may determine an issue not determined or wrongly determined by the Tribunal, applies the Code of Civil Procedure 1908, and the Assessing Officer gives effect to the order on a certified copy (ss.19(4) to 19(10)).
TaxSphere, “Sections 15 to 19 of the Black Money Act - the appeal machinery”, https://taxnotice.vittsphere.com/caselaw/case/statutory-position-bma-15-to-19-the-appeal-machinery/ (validity last checked 2026-09-16)
The judgment itself is a government work and may be quoted freely. The summary, the validity note and the reasoning on this page are this library's own writing: quote them with attribution, and please do not present either as the words of the court — this page keeps the two apart and so should a quotation of it.
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I want to appeal a Black Money Act assessment to the Commissioner (Appeals). Is there a pre-deposit, and if so on what amount — the whole demand or only the part I am not disputing?
I went to the High Court instead of appealing, and the thirty days under s.15 have gone. Am I out of time?
There is a look-out circular against me while my Black Money Act appeal is pending. Can I get it lifted, and does the appeal need money deposited first?
The Tribunal decided my Black Money Act appeal without dealing with the written submissions I filed. Is there any remedy short of the High Court?
