Rule 179 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026

Where this rule sits

Rule 179 gives effect to Section 289 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 178  ·  Rule 180 →

What this rule does

Sub-rule (1) prescribes Form No. 103 for a notice of demand under section 289, subject to sub-rule (2).

Sub-rule (2) carves out one case. Where the notice of demand under section 289 is to be served upon the assessee in pursuance of an order under section 407, it shall be in Form No. 151.

The rule fixes the form and nothing else. What the demand may contain, when it must be served and what follows from non-payment are matters for section 289 and the provisions that attach to it.

Why it is there

A notice of demand is the instrument that converts a determination of tax, interest, penalty or other sum into something payable, so its shape has to be fixed rather than left to each officer. Section 289 requires the notice to be in the prescribed form; rule 179 supplies it, and separates out the demand that follows an order under section 407 so that a distinct form carries it.

Who it applies to

• An assessee on whom a notice of demand under section 289 is served
• The income-tax authority issuing the notice of demand
• An assessee served with a demand in pursuance of an order under section 407

The forms it prescribes

• Form No. 103 — notice of demand under section 289
• Form No. 151 — notice of demand under section 289 served in pursuance of an order under section 407

What this means in practice

The form on the paper tells the reader which route the demand has come by. Form No. 103 is the general notice of demand; Form No. 151 appears only where the demand follows an order under section 407, and sub-rule (1) is expressly subject to sub-rule (2), so in that case Form No. 151 displaces Form No. 103 rather than supplementing it. The rule does not create the demand or the liability — the sum demanded rests on the order behind the notice — so an argument about the correctness of the amount is an argument about that order, not about rule 179.

An example

An assessment results in tax payable, and the Assessing Officer serves a notice of demand in Form No. 103 under section 289. Later an order is passed under section 407 in the same case and a further sum becomes payable in pursuance of it; the notice of demand for that sum is served in Form No. 151, because sub-rule (2) governs that situation and sub-rule (1) is subject to it.

Where you meet this rule

A taxpayer meets it as the demand notice itself, arriving with an assessment or other order, and the form number printed on it shows whether it is a general section 289 demand or one in pursuance of an order under section 407.

The words themselves

What people get wrong

• Using Form No. 103 for a demand in pursuance of an order under section 407. Sub-rule (2) prescribes Form No. 151 for that case, and sub-rule (1) is subject to it.
• Reading a time limit for service into the rule. It prescribes the form only.
• Treating the notice as the source of the liability. The sum demanded comes from the order behind it; the rule prescribes the instrument by which it is demanded.