Circular No. 15/2024

Order under section 119(1) of the IT Act, 1961 fixing the monetary limits of the Income-tax authorities in respect of reduction or waiver of interest paid or payable under section 220 (2) of the IT Act

What this is

Circular No. 15/2024 was issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes on 4 November 2024. Its subject is Order under section 119(1) of the IT Act, 1961 fixing the monetary limits of the Income-tax authorities in respect of reduction or waiver of interest paid or payable under section 220 (2) of the IT Act.

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 It binds the department only: it is not a rule about the merits, and an assessee cannot draw an inference from a withdrawn appeal.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

Fixes who inside the department may reduce or waive interest charged under section 220(2), by money value. Waiver up to Rs. 50 lakh sits at the Commissioner level; above Rs. 50 lakh and up to Rs. 1.5 crore with the Chief Commissioner or Director General; above Rs. 1.5 crore with the Principal Chief Commissioner. The three statutory conditions in section 220(2A) continue to apply whichever authority decides, and the order takes effect from the date of its issue.

Why it was issued

For the proper administration of the Act — the Board was allocating the section 220(2A) power across ranks so that waiver applications reach the right officer.

Who it reaches

Assessees carrying interest under section 220(2) on an unpaid demand
Applicants for waiver or reduction under section 220(2A)
Income-tax authorities of Commissioner rank and above disposing of such applications

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.119	s.239
s.156	s.289
s.220	s.411

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.

F.No.400/08/2024-IT(B) Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes Circular No./2024 New Delhi, 4th November, 2024 Subject: Order under section 119(1) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 fixing monetary limits of the authorities in respect of reduction or waiver of interest paid or payable under section 220(2) of the Income-tax Act- reg. Section 220(2) of the Income-tax Act deals with the consequences of non-payment of income tax by a taxpayer. As per Section 220(2) of the Act, if a taxpayer fails to pay the amount specified in any notice of demand under section 156 of the Act, she shall be liable to pay simple interest at the rate of 1% per month or part of the month for the period of delay in making the payment. Further, section 220(2A) of the Act empowers the Principal Chief Commissioner (Pr.CCIT) or Chief Commissioner (CCIT) or Principal Commissioner (Pr.CIT) or Commissioner (CIT) for reduction or waiver of the amount paid or payable under section 220(2) of the Act in the circumstances specified therein. In accordance with the powers vested with the income-tax authorities specified in section 220(2A) of the Act in respect of reduction or waiver of the interest paid or payable under section 220(2) of the Act, the Central Board of Direct Taxes, for the proper administration of the Act, hereby specifies the following monetary limits as under: S.No Income-tax Authority Monetary Limit 1. Pr.CCIT/CIT Upto Rs. 50 lacs 2. CCIT/DGIT Above Rs. 50 lacs to Rs. 1.5 crore 3. Pr.CCIT Above Rs. 1.5 crore The powers of reduction or waiver of the interest paid or payable under section 220(2) of the Act in respect of any income-tax authority shall continue to be subject to satisfaction of all the following conditions specified under section 220(2A) of the Act- (i) payment of such amount has caused or would cause genuine hardship to the assessee; (ii) default in the payment of the amount on which interest has been paid or was payable under the said sub-section was due to circumstances beyond the control of the assessee; and (iii) the assessee has co-operated in any inquiry relating to the assessment or any proceeding for the recovery of any amount due from him. The above shall come into effect from the date of issue of this Circular. Hindi version shall follow. Copy to:- The Chairman & Members, CBDT All Pr.CCsIT, CCsIT, DGsIT. All Joint Secretaries/CsIT, CBDT. (Rubal Singh) Deputy Secretary (IT-Budget), CBDT, New Delhi Commissioner of Income-tax (Media & TP) and official Spokesperson, CBDT, New Delhi. ADG (PR,P&P) for necessary action. JCIT, Database Cell, with a request to upload the order on the website www.irsofficersonline.gov.in. Web Manager, DIO DGIT(Systems) with request to upload on the departmental website of www.incometaxindia.gov.in. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, IP Estate, New Delhi All Chambers of Commerce. Hindi Cell for translation. The Guard File.

What to watch

The monetary slab is on the interest, not on the underlying demand — filing with the wrong rank is a common and avoidable mistake.
All three section 220(2A) conditions must be satisfied together: genuine hardship, default beyond the assessee's control, and co-operation in the inquiry or recovery proceeding.
The order fixes forum only; it creates no fresh right to waiver and does not soften the 1% per month charge itself.
It operates from the date of issue, 4 November 2024, so applications already pending were not decided under an earlier allocation.

Where you meet it

On a recovery file, when interest under section 220(2) has run on a demand raised by notice under section 156 and the assessee moves an application for its waiver or reduction.

An example

Ours, not the Board’s: a worked case built from the rule the instrument sets, to show how it falls out.

A demand goes unpaid for twenty months and interest under section 220(2) works out to Rs. 60 lakh. Because the interest exceeds Rs. 50 lakh but not Rs. 1.5 crore, the waiver application lies before the Chief Commissioner or Director General, not the Commissioner — and it still fails unless all three conditions in section 220(2A) are made out.

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.

Circular No. 6/2026 — Condonation of delay in filing Form No. 10AB electronically for approval under clause(ii) of the first proviso to sectio 2 July 2026
Circular No. 2/2026 — Order under section 119 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for extension of timeline for issuance of tax deducted at source (TD 25 March 2026
Circular No.15/2025 — Extension of timelines for filing of various reports of audit and income tax returns ITRS for the assessment year 2025 2 29 October 2025
Circular No. 10/2025 — Relaxation of time limit for processing of returns of income filed electronically which were incorrectly invalidated by 28 July 2025
Circular No. 7/2025 — Relaxation of time limit for processing of valid returns of income filed electronically pursuant to order u/s 119(2)(b) 25 June 2025
Circular No. 6/2025 — Extension of due date for furnishing return of income for the Assessment Year 2025-26 27 May 2025

← Circular No. 17/2024 · Circular No. 14/2024 →

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.