Rules 2026s.270

Rule 175 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026

Rule 175 — Prescribed authority for issue of notice under section 270(8). Made under s.270 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.

Where this rule sits

Rule 175 gives effect to Section 270 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A rule cannot go beyond the section it serves: where the two seem to differ, the section governs.

← Rule 174 · Rule 176 →

What this rule does

The rule names the prescribed authority for section 270(8). It shall be an income-tax authority not below the rank of an Income-tax Officer, who has been authorised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes to act as income-tax authority for the purposes of section 270(8).

Why it is there

Section 270(8) allows a notice to be issued by a prescribed authority but does not say who that is. The rule sets two requirements at once: a floor of rank, and an express authorisation by the Board. Neither alone is enough.

Who it applies to

An income-tax authority not below the rank of an Income-tax Officer authorised by the Board for the purposes of section 270(8)
A person on whom a notice under section 270(8) is served

The figures, and what each one turns on

Read the condition in the same row. A figure quoted without it is a wrong answer with a citation attached.

What	Figure	The condition on it	Where
Minimum rank of the prescribed authority	Not below the rank of an Income-tax Officer	And authorised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes to act as income-tax authority for the purposes of section 270(8)	Rule 175

What this means in practice

Rank alone does not make an officer the prescribed authority. The rule requires both that the officer be not below the rank of an Income-tax Officer and that the Board have authorised him to act as income-tax authority for the purposes of section 270(8), so a notice from an officer of adequate rank who lacks that authorisation is not a notice from the prescribed authority. The rule says nothing about what the notice may require or when it may issue; those come from section 270(8).

An example

Illustrative only, and invented for this page. The figures are chosen to show the requirement biting, not taken from any real matter.

A notice under section 270(8) is issued by an officer of the rank of Income-tax Officer. The recipient can ask on what authorisation it was issued, because this rule requires the officer to have been authorised by the Board to act as income-tax authority for the purposes of that sub-section, over and above his rank.

Where you meet this rule

You meet it on the face of a notice under section 270(8), when checking whether the officer issuing it answers the description of the prescribed authority.

The words themselves

The prescribed authority under section 270(8) shall be an income-tax authority not below the rank of an Income-tax Officer, who has been authorised by the Central Board of Direct Taxes to act as in-come-tax authority for the purposes of section 270(8).

Rule 175, Income-tax Rules, 2026.

What people get wrong

Treating any officer of or above Income-tax Officer rank as the prescribed authority. Board authorisation for the purposes of section 270(8) is also required.
Reading the rule as the source of the power to issue the notice. That is section 270(8); the rule only identifies who may exercise it.
Assuming a senior officer needs no authorisation. The rule imposes the authorisation requirement regardless of how senior the officer is.

What this page does not tell you. It does not reproduce the rule. Everything above was written from the rule’s own text as the Income Tax Department publishes it — the text is here. A rule is subordinate legislation: it prescribes the method, the form or the period, and it cannot enlarge the charge the section imposes. Where a figure matters, read the sub-rule it comes from.