The Commissioner has referred my case to the Approving Panel. What form does that reference take, what is the Panel obliged to do with it, and am I entitled to be heard?
Three rules govern this stage and they are short. Rule 10UD requires the reference under s.144BA(4) to be "made in Form No. 3CEIA along with a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents which the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner deems fit" and to be "submitted in four sets, either in Hindi or English". Rule 10UE(1) requires the Chairperson of the Panel to cause the reference to be circulated among the other members "within seven days from the date of receipt of such reference". Rule 10UE(2) requires the Chairperson to "cause to be issued the notice to the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard specifying therein the date and place of hearing" — so the taxpayer's right to be heard before the Panel is in the rules as well as in s.144BA(7). Rule 10UE(3) leaves the venue of the Panel's meetings to the Panel. Rule 10UF fixes the members' remuneration at a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day plus travelling and daily allowances as admissible to an officer of the rank of Special Secretary to the Government of India, met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue.
Decided by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions (Not applicable — statutory text) on 2019-09-17, reported as Rules 10UD, 10UE and 10UF of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, transcribed from incometaxindia.gov.in/w/rule-10ud, /w/rule-10ue and /w/rule-10uf, none of which carries a "Year:" stamp; the set dated from amendment footnote 56 on the Rule 10UD page ("Rules 10UD to 10UF inserted by the IT (Eighth Amdt.) Rules, 2019, w.e.f. 17-9-2019"); Rule 10UD corroborated at indiankanoon.org/doc/88740808/ and Rule 10UE at indiankanoon.org/doc/54565575/. It bears on section Rule 10UD, section Rule 10UE, section Rule 10UF, section 144BA, section 144BA(4), section 144BA(6), section 144BA(7), section 144BA(8), section 144BA(9), section 144BA(13), section 144BA(14), section Rule 10UB, section Rule 10UC of the Income Tax Act 1961, in Assessment & Scrutiny, Appeals and How Tax Law Is Read matters.
The rule set does not stop at Rule 10UC, and a practitioner who works from a checklist that ends there will miss the three rules that actually govern what happens once the reference leaves the Commissioner's office. Two of them are worth using. Rule 10UD identifies the documents: Form 3CEI is the Commissioner's own reference document and Form 3CEIA is the covering reference to the Panel, and both are documents the taxpayer should ask for, because the Panel is deciding on a case framed in them. Rule 10UE(2) is the taxpayer's entitlement to a notice specifying the date AND the place of hearing — a right that becomes real once you remember that Rule 10UE(3) allows the Panel to meet wherever it decides, so a hearing may be fixed in a city other than the one your assessment is in. The seven-day circulation requirement in Rule 10UE(1) is a useful marker for reconstructing the Panel's timeline — no decision has been found on whether it is mandatory or directory, so argue neither without authority — which matters because s.144BA(13) gives the Panel only six months from the end of the month in which the reference was received. Note what these rules do NOT do: they contain no provision for filing written objections to the Panel, no provision for representation, and no procedure for the further inquiry the Panel may direct under s.144BA(8). Those come from the section, and where the rules are silent the section is the source.
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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Rule 10UD, as transcribed from the departmental page and confirmed on indiankanoon, reads: "10UD. Reference to the Approving Panel. A reference under sub-section (4) of section 144BA to an Approving Panel shall be,— (i) made in Form No. 3CEIA along with a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents which the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner deems fit; and (ii) submitted in four sets, either in Hindi or English." Rule 10UE reads: "10UE. Procedure before the Approving Panel. (1) A reference received under rule 10UD shall be caused to be circulated by the Chairperson of the said Panel among the other members within seven days from the date of receipt of such reference. (2) The Chairperson of the Approving Panel shall cause to be issued the notice to the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard specifying therein the date and place of hearing. (3) The meetings of the Approving Panel shall take place at such place as the Approving Panel may decide." Rule 10UF reads: "10UF. Remuneration. (1) For attending the meeting of an Approving Panel, the Chairperson and other members of the said Panel shall be entitled to— (i) a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day; and (ii) travelling allowances including transportation charges for local travel and daily allowances (including accommodation) as admissible to an officer of the rank of Special Secretary to the Government of India. (2) The expenditure of an Approving Panel shall be met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance of the Central Government."
Not a judgment. The statutory position is that a reference to the Approving Panel under s.144BA(4) must be made in Form No. 3CEIA accompanied by a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents as the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner thinks fit, and submitted in four sets in Hindi or English; that the Chairperson must circulate the reference among the other members within seven days of receiving it and must cause a notice to be issued to both the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard and specifying the date and place of hearing; that the Panel meets where it decides; and that its Chairperson and members are paid a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day with travelling and daily allowances on the scale of a Special Secretary to the Government of India, the expenditure being met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue.
Not a judgment; no judicial reasoning is stated for these rules.
(2) The Chairperson of the Approving Panel shall cause to be issued the notice to the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard specifying therein the date and place of hearing.
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Handle my notice → Ask a CA on WhatsAppThree rules govern this stage and they are short. Rule 10UD requires the reference under s.144BA(4) to be "made in Form No. 3CEIA along with a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents which the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner deems fit" and to be "submitted in four sets, either in Hindi or English". Rule 10UE(1) requires the Chairperson of the Panel to cause the reference to be circulated among the other members "within seven days from the date of receipt of such reference". Rule 10UE(2) requires the Chairperson to "cause to be issued the notice to the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard specifying therein the date and place of hearing" — so the taxpayer's right to be heard before the Panel is in the rules as well as in s.144BA(7). Rule 10UE(3) leaves the venue of the Panel's meetings to the Panel. Rule 10UF fixes the members' remuneration at a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day plus travelling and daily allowances as admissible to an officer of the rank of Special Secretary to the Government of India, met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue. This was decided by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions (Not applicable — statutory text) and bears on section Rule 10UD, section Rule 10UE, section Rule 10UF, section 144BA, section 144BA(4), section 144BA(6), section 144BA(7), section 144BA(8), section 144BA(9), section 144BA(13), section 144BA(14), section Rule 10UB, section Rule 10UC of the Income Tax Act 1961. It is reported as Rules 10UD, 10UE and 10UF of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, transcribed from incometaxindia.gov.in/w/rule-10ud, /w/rule-10ue and /w/rule-10uf, none of which carries a "Year:" stamp; the set dated from amendment footnote 56 on the Rule 10UD page ("Rules 10UD to 10UF inserted by the IT (Eighth Amdt.) Rules, 2019, w.e.f. 17-9-2019"); Rule 10UD corroborated at indiankanoon.org/doc/88740808/ and Rule 10UE at indiankanoon.org/doc/54565575/. The rule set does not stop at Rule 10UC, and a practitioner who works from a checklist that ends there will miss the three rules that actually govern what happens once the reference leaves the Commissioner's office. Two of them are worth using. Rule 10UD identifies the documents: Form 3CEI is the Commissioner's own reference document and Form 3CEIA is the covering reference to the Panel, and both are documents the taxpayer should ask for, because the Panel is deciding on a case framed in them. Rule 10UE(2) is the taxpayer's entitlement to a notice specifying the date AND the place of hearing — a right that becomes real once you remember that Rule 10UE(3) allows the Panel to meet wherever it decides, so a hearing may be fixed in a city other than the one your assessment is in. The seven-day circulation requirement in Rule 10UE(1) is a useful marker for reconstructing the Panel's timeline — no decision has been found on whether it is mandatory or directory, so argue neither without authority — which matters because s.144BA(13) gives the Panel only six months from the end of the month in which the reference was received. Note what these rules do NOT do: they contain no provision for filing written objections to the Panel, no provision for representation, and no procedure for the further inquiry the Panel may direct under s.144BA(8). Those come from the section, and where the rules are silent the section is the source. If it applies to you, the first step is this: Ask the Commissioner's office for a copy of Form 3CEI and Form 3CEIA. Rule 10UD makes them the documents on which the reference is founded, and you are answering the case made in them.
Rule 10UD, as transcribed from the departmental page and confirmed on indiankanoon, reads: "10UD. Reference to the Approving Panel. A reference under sub-section (4) of section 144BA to an Approving Panel shall be,— (i) made in Form No. 3CEIA along with a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents which the Principal Commissioner or the Commissioner deems fit; and (ii) submitted in four sets, either in Hindi or English." Rule 10UE reads: "10UE. Procedure before the Approving Panel. (1) A reference received under rule 10UD shall be caused to be circulated by the Chairperson of the said Panel among the other members within seven days from the date of receipt of such reference. (2) The Chairperson of the Approving Panel shall cause to be issued the notice to the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard specifying therein the date and place of hearing. (3) The meetings of the Approving Panel shall take place at such place as the Approving Panel may decide." Rule 10UF reads: "10UF. Remuneration. (1) For attending the meeting of an Approving Panel, the Chairperson and other members of the said Panel shall be entitled to— (i) a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day; and (ii) travelling allowances including transportation charges for local travel and daily allowances (including accommodation) as admissible to an officer of the rank of Special Secretary to the Government of India. (2) The expenditure of an Approving Panel shall be met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue in the Ministry of Finance of the Central Government." The matter was decided on 2019-09-17 by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions (Not applicable — statutory text). On those facts the CBDT Circulars & Instructions held as follows. Not a judgment. The statutory position is that a reference to the Approving Panel under s.144BA(4) must be made in Form No. 3CEIA accompanied by a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents as the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner thinks fit, and submitted in four sets in Hindi or English; that the Chairperson must circulate the reference among the other members within seven days of receiving it and must cause a notice to be issued to both the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard and specifying the date and place of hearing; that the Panel meets where it decides; and that its Chairperson and members are paid a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day with travelling and daily allowances on the scale of a Special Secretary to the Government of India, the expenditure being met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue.
Not a judgment; no judicial reasoning is stated for these rules. In the words reproduced by the source cited on this page: "(2) The Chairperson of the Approving Panel shall cause to be issued the notice to the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard specifying therein the date and place of hearing."
It was decided by the CBDT Circulars & Instructions on 2019-09-17 and is reported as Rules 10UD, 10UE and 10UF of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, transcribed from incometaxindia.gov.in/w/rule-10ud, /w/rule-10ue and /w/rule-10uf, none of which carries a "Year:" stamp; the set dated from amendment footnote 56 on the Rule 10UD page ("Rules 10UD to 10UF inserted by the IT (Eighth Amdt.) Rules, 2019, w.e.f. 17-9-2019"); Rule 10UD corroborated at indiankanoon.org/doc/88740808/ and Rule 10UE at indiankanoon.org/doc/54565575/. 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 Rule 10UD, section Rule 10UE, section Rule 10UF, section 144BA, section 144BA(4), section 144BA(6), section 144BA(7), section 144BA(8), section 144BA(9), section 144BA(13), section 144BA(14), section Rule 10UB, section Rule 10UC, 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. Not a judgment. The statutory position is that a reference to the Approving Panel under s.144BA(4) must be made in Form No. 3CEIA accompanied by a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents as the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner thinks fit, and submitted in four sets in Hindi or English; that the Chairperson must circulate the reference among the other members within seven days of receiving it and must cause a notice to be issued to both the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard and specifying the date and place of hearing; that the Panel meets where it decides; and that its Chairperson and members are paid a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day with travelling and daily allowances on the scale of a Special Secretary to the Government of India, the expenditure being met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue. It arises in Assessment & Scrutiny, Appeals and How Tax Law Is Read matters, on section Rule 10UD, section Rule 10UE, section Rule 10UF, section 144BA, section 144BA(4), section 144BA(6), section 144BA(7), section 144BA(8), section 144BA(9), section 144BA(13), section 144BA(14), section Rule 10UB, section Rule 10UC 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. Check the date on which the Panel received the reference. That date starts the six-month period in s.144BA(13) and it is the date from which the seven-day circulation requirement in Rule 10UE(1) runs. When the Rule 10UE(2) notice arrives, check that it specifies both the date and the place of hearing; if it does not, ask for the omission to be cured before the hearing rather than after. Do not treat the rules as the whole of the procedure. The right to be heard before a direction prejudicial to you is in s.144BA(7); the Panel's power to direct further inquiry, call for records and require documents is in s.144BA(8); majority decision is in s.144BA(9). Read them together with these rules. Remember that whatever the Panel directs binds you and the Revenue by s.144BA(14) and that no appeal lies against it, so the Panel hearing is the last forum in which you can put your case on the facts. Prepare it as a final hearing, not a preliminary one.
Still good law. The three rules were inserted by the Income-tax (Eighth Amendment) Rules, 2019 with effect from 17 September 2019, on the amendment footnote printed on the departmental page for Rule 10UD (footnote 56), returned on two separate fetches and corroborated by the closing square bracket at the end of Rule 10UF. No footnote recording any later amendment is printed on any of the three pages, which is evidence — though not proof — that they stand as inserted. Rules 10UD and 10UE were each read on two routes, a departmental page and indiankanoon, which agreed word for word; Rule 10UF rests on the departmental page alone and is the weakest part of this entry. No judgment applying these three rules was found and no check of judicial treatment was made. 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.
A CORRECTION TO THE WORKING ASSUMPTION THAT THE GAAR RULE SET RUNS FROM 10U TO 10UC. It does not. Departmental pages exist and return Income-tax Rules, 1962 content, with the correct headings, at /w/rule-10ud ("Reference to the Approving Panel"), /w/rule-10ue ("Procedure before the Approving Panel") and /w/rule-10uf ("Remuneration"); /w/rule-10ug returns HTTP 404, and the text of Rule 10UF ends with a closing square bracket, both of which suggest the set ends at 10UF. DATING — THE SET CAN BE DATED, AND THE ATTRIBUTION A FIRST FETCH VOLUNTEERED WAS RIGHT. None of the three pages carries a "Year:" stamp, but /w/rule-10ud carries a numbered amendment footnote and it dates the whole set. Footnote 56, whose marker sits against the Part heading "DE.—Approving Panel", reads: "Rules 10UD to 10UF inserted by the IT (Eighth Amdt.) Rules, 2019, w.e.f. 17-9-2019." That was returned on two separate fetches of the page framed in different words, and it is corroborated by the page for Rule 10UF, whose text ends with the closing square bracket that marks the end of the inserted block whose opening bracket stands at Rule 10UD. Rules 10UE and 10UF carry no footnote of their own, which is why an earlier check of those two pages alone wrongly suggested the set could not be dated. `decided_on` is accordingly 17 September 2019, the date these three rules came into force — not the first day of the first assessment year to which s.95(2) applies the Chapter they serve, which is the convention the other Chapter X-A entries in this library follow. Rules 10UB and 10UC, which govern the earlier stages, are already covered by the existing entry in this library on the GAAR procedure and are not restated here. 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.
Not a judgment. The statutory position is that a reference to the Approving Panel under s.144BA(4) must be made in Form No. 3CEIA accompanied by a copy of Form No. 3CEI and such other documents as the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner thinks fit, and submitted in four sets in Hindi or English; that the Chairperson must circulate the reference among the other members within seven days of receiving it and must cause a notice to be issued to both the Assessing Officer and the assessee affording an opportunity of being heard and specifying the date and place of hearing; that the Panel meets where it decides; and that its Chairperson and members are paid a sitting fee of six thousand rupees per day with travelling and daily allowances on the scale of a Special Secretary to the Government of India, the expenditure being met from the budgetary grants of the Department of Revenue.
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