Section 253(4) — the law in short
What the courts have decided on section 253(4), in one screen. Read this first; open an entry when you need the facts, the reasoning and the source.
-
ITO v Plus Corporate Ventures Pvt Ltd — Rule 27 lets a respondent who won on merits still knock out the assessment on jurisdiction, and the Revenue's appeal then goes as infructuous
ITATHelps taxpayerNo later treatment found
The Commissioner (Appeals) allowed my client's appeal on merits but rejected his challenge to the reopening. The department has appealed to the Tribunal and my client filed no cross-objection. Can he still argue that the reassessment was without jurisdiction?
Yes, under Rule 27 of the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules 1963, which provides that the respondent, though he may not have appealed, may support the order appealed against on any of the grounds decided against him. The Tribunal admitted the assessee's Rule 27 application challenging the validity of the s.147 proceedings, found the reasons recorded to be founded on facts that were demonstrably wrong, held the assumption of jurisdiction invalid, quashed the assessment order and dismissed the Revenue's appeal as infructuous.
-
Statutory position — section 253: the appeal to the Tribunal is now due within two months from the END OF THE MONTH of communication, not sixty days
CBDT Circulars & InstructionsCuts both ways
How long do I actually have to appeal to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal? I have always worked on sixty days from receipt of the order.
Sixty days is no longer the rule. With effect from 1 October 2024 the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 (Act 15 of 2024) substituted the opening of s.253(3): an appeal under s.253(1) or s.253(2) must now be filed 'within two months from the end of the month in which the order sought to be appealed against is communicated to the assessee or to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, as the case may be'. A memorandum of cross-objections under s.253(4) is still due within thirty days of receipt of notice of the other side's appeal, and s.253(5) still lets the Tribunal admit a late appeal or cross-objection on sufficient cause.
Listed strongest first: Supreme Court, then High Court, then Tribunal, then CBDT. Nothing here has yet been read in full by a chartered accountant — open an entry to see where it came from.
