Circular No. 8/2023

Revision of exceptions to monetary limits for filing appeals deferred under provisions of section 158AB

What this is

Circular No. 8/2023 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 31 May 2023. Its subject is Revision of exceptions to monetary limits for filing appeals deferred under provisions of section 158AB.

This fixes the monetary limits below which the department will not appeal. It binds the department only: it is not a rule about the merits, and an assessee cannot draw an inference from a withdrawn appeal.

What it does

Sets out how the departmental appeal thresholds work where an appeal is deferred under section 158AB. References to the collegium constituted under that section for deciding on deferral are to be made having regard to the monetary limits in force, read with the existing exceptions. Where only one ground is contested, the tax effect exceeds the threshold and section 158AB applies, the appeal may be deferred in the current year and is to be filed in the year in which the final decision on the identical question of law is received in favour of the Revenue in the other case. Where several grounds are contested and the total tax effect crosses the threshold but section 158AB applies to only some of them, the appeal on those grounds may be deferred while an appeal is filed on the residual grounds, and when the decision in the other case comes in favour of the Revenue, the appeal on the deferred grounds is to be filed irrespective of the monetary limit then in force. Once judicial finality is reached in favour of the Revenue in the other case, the relevant case is to be contested on merits regardless of the limits; and if the outcome in the other case is against the Revenue and is not accepted, that case itself is to be contested on merits regardless of the limits. It supersedes the letter of 29 September 2022, takes effect from the date of issue, and issues under section 268A.

Why it was issued

The insertion of section 158AB had led to queries about which monetary limits and exceptions apply to cases within its purview.

Who it reaches

Assessees whose issue is identical to a question of law pending in another case
Assessees with a mix of grounds, only some of which are deferred under section 158AB
Assessees who assume a low-tax-effect appeal will not be filed later

The provisions it speaks to

Left, the provision of the Income-tax Act, 1961 as the instrument itself names it. Right, the section of the Income-tax Act, 2025 that the department’s own concordance maps it to — which is where the same ground is now covered.

Under the 1961 Act	Now
s.158AB	s.376

The instrument, as the Board published it

The department publishes this one only as a PDF, so the words below were read out of that PDF by machine. That reading can carry its own mistakes — a misread number, a broken line. Check the signed document before you rely on a figure in it.

Circular No.8/2023
No. 279IMisc.IM-93/2018-ITJ(Pt.)
Government of India
Ministry of Finance
Department of Revenue
Central Board of Direct Taxes, New Delhi
*****
~t
Dated the';'l May, 2023
Sub:- Revision of exceptions to monetary limits for filing appeals deferred under
provisions of Section 158AB-reg.
_~ __ Ref:- 1. CBDT Letter F.No.279IMisc.14212007-ITJ(pt) dated 20.08.2018
2. CBDT letter F.No.279IMisc.IM-9312018-ITJ(Pt.) dated 29.09.2022
3. CBDT Letter F.No.279/Misc.IM-93/2018-ITJ(Pt.) dated 24.01.2023
The Board has, from time-to-time, revised monetary thresholds for filing appeals before
various judicial fora. The last such revision was through Circular No. 1712019 dated 08.08 .2019.
Exceptions to the monetary limits are as per Board's letter F.No. 279IMisc.142/2007-ITJ(PL) dated
20.08.2018 and OM issued vide F.No.279/Misc'/M-93/2018-ITJ(PL) dated 16.09.2019.
2. In this respect the insertion Clf S~rti()n 15~A3 in th" hc.0cne Tax Act, 1961 [hcrei,1af~cl
referred to as (he Act] has led to queries on monetary limits and exceptions applicable in respect
of cases falling within the purview of Section 158AB of the Act. In supersession of the letter dated
29.09.2022, referred to above, the following guidelines on the above subject are hereby issued:
3. At the outset it is clarified that references to collegiums constituted U/S l58AB ofthe Act
for deciding qn the deferral of appeal(s)/grounds of appeal(s) would be made having regard to the
extant monetary limits read along with the exceptions to the same, as mentioned in para 1 above
and the exceptions provided in para 6 below.
- If--The fOllOwing termino ogy is proposed in respect of para 5 below:
(i) Yo: the curr.ent year in which appeal filing is under consideration, and
(ii) Y r: the year in which the final decision on the question of law is received in favour of Revenue
in the 'other case' ('other case' being as referred to in section 158AB of the Act).
J.UJI<lJl, of Income Tax (S)-4
07 JUN 2023
5. Scenarios on the applicability of monetary limits:
(i) In cases where only one ground is contested and where the tax effect is greater thal1 the monetaT)'
threshold as per the extant monetary limits for fi ling appeals at relevant judicial fora, set by CBDT,
and section l58AB is applicable to it, appeal may be deferred in the current year (Yo) in view of
the provisions of section 158AB. The appeal is to be filed in the year in which the final decision
on the identical question oflaw is received in favour of Revenue in Yr.
(ii) In cases where multiple grounds are contested and where the total tax effect of all the disputed
grounds (i.e., grounds to which Section 158AB is applicable and otherwise) is greater than the
extant monetaT)' limits for filing appeals at relevant judicial fora, set by CBDT, and Section 158AB
is applicable only to certain grounds, the guidelines for filing appeal are as follows:
(a) in the current year (Yo),
t. filing of appeal on the grounds to which section 158AB is_ ap.plicable may be
--- deferred in view of the provisions of that section, and
11. appeal may be filed on the residual grounds.
(b) in the year in which the final decision on the identical question of law is received in
favour of Revenue in Y r, appeal is to be filed on the grounds to which section 158AB
is applicable, irrespective of the monetary limit at that point in time.
6. In respect of deferring appeals uls 158AB of the Act, while adhering to the guidelines as
laid down in the preceding paras, it is to be ensured that when judicial finality is achieved in favour
of Revenue in the 'other case', appeal in the 'relevanT case' should be contested on merits
subsequent to the decision in the 'other case' irrespective of the extant monetary limits. Further,
if the judicia! outcome in the' other case' L; 11m ;n favour of Revcnue and is not accepted by the
Department, appeal against the same may be contested on merits in the 'other case' irrespective
of the extant monetary limits, to arrive at judicial fmality.
7. The above shall come into effect from the date of issue of this letter and may be brought to
the knowledge of all officers working in your region.
8. This issues under section 268A of the Income Tax Act.
Copy to:
((Devaki Niranjana)
DCIT(OSD), ITJ-II,CBDT
I. Chairman, Members and all other officers in CBDT of the rank of Under Secretary and above.
2. All Pr. Chief Commissioners of Income Tax and all Directors General of Income Tax with a
request to bring to the attention of all officers.
3. ADG (PR, P&P), Mayur Bhawan, New Delhi for printing in the quarterly Tax Bulletin and for
circulation as per usual mailing list.
4. The Comptroller and Auditor General ofIndia.
5. ADG (Vigilance), lawaharlal Nehru Stadium, New Delhi.
2
6. All Directorates of Income-tax, New Delhi and Pr. DGIT(NADT), Nagpur.
7. Data Base Cell for uploading on irsofficersonline.gov.in .
. y. ADG(Sys-lV) for uploading on Department's website
9. ITCC- 3 Copies.
10. Hindi Cell for translation.
11. Guard file.
(Devaki Niranjana)
DCIT(OSD), ITJ-lI,CBDT
3

What to watch

Deferral is not abandonment — when the other case is decided for the Revenue, the appeal is filed on the deferred grounds whatever the monetary limit is by then.
On multiple grounds the Department splits the appeal: it files at once on the residual grounds and holds back the section 158AB grounds.
The monetary limits referred to are those in force, last revised by Circular No. 17/2019 dated 8 August 2019, read with the exceptions in the earlier letters this circular cites.
It supersedes the letter of 29 September 2022 and operates from its own date of issue.
The text as read carries OCR damage in several lines; check the guidelines against the circular itself before relying on the precise wording.

Where you meet it

When a departmental appeal appears out of time or out of turn on a ground that was deferred, or when arguing that a low-tax-effect appeal ought not to have been filed.

What it names

It mentions. Circular No. 8/2023

On the same provision

Other instruments in this library that name the same provision of the 1961 Act. They are not necessarily still operative, and a later one may have replaced an earlier one without saying so.

F.No.370133/13/2022-TPL — Tpl order specifying the collegium explanation to section 158AB of the income tax act 1961 28 September 2022

A circular binds the department, not you and not a court. The Board issues a circular to its own officers. An assessee may hold the department to a circular that helps him; the department cannot hold an assessee to one that hurts him, and the Tribunal and the courts decide the law for themselves.

Source: the Income Tax Department’s own published text — its page for this instrument.