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Case law › AO — Assessment Stage

AO — Assessment Stage

No precedent is created here. What governs this stage is the Act, the Rules, CBDT instructions — and the decisions of the courts above, which the officer is bound to follow.

Nothing on this page was decided at this stage. Every authority below was decided by a court above — and each one is law that the officer, or the first appellate authority, is bound to apply to you. That is the useful thing about them: you can put them in a reply or a ground of appeal and they have to be answered.

AO — Assessment Stage — 488 entries

And 428 entries, by name. The first 60 are spelled out above because that is as far as most people scroll; each of these has a page of its own carrying the full text and the sources.

The procedure, explained

What the statute requires at this stage, and where people go wrong.

Best judgment assessment (section 144)

The officer estimated my income without any basis — can he just pick a number?

How faceless assessment actually works

My assessment is faceless. Who is deciding, and what happens if they skip the hearing?

Limitation on notices and assessments

Is this notice too late, and does it matter that the officer had reasons?

Natural justice in tax proceedings

They used a statement against me without letting me question the person — is that allowed?

Non-issue is not non-service: what s.292BB can and cannot cure

The assessee attended the hearings without objecting, so does s.292BB cure the missing notice?

Rectification of a mistake apparent from the record

There is an obvious arithmetic or credit error in my order. Can it be fixed without an appeal?

Rejecting the books, then estimating: what the officer must show

Before an Assessing Officer estimates income, what must he establish about the books, and what must the estimate rest on?

s.142(1) notices, and what ignoring them actually costs

What can the Assessing Officer call for under s.142(1), and what follows if the assessee does not comply?

s.153D approval: the second signature that has to mean something

When does approval under s.153D stop being a safeguard and start being a rubber stamp that destroys the assessment?

Special audit: when the officer sends your books to an outside auditor

The Assessing Officer wants my accounts audited by a nominated chartered accountant. Can he do that, and what does it cost me in time?

The draft order and the DRP: the s.144C route

Who is an eligible assessee under s.144C, and what happens if the officer skips the draft order?

The s.143(2) notice: the door the officer must open

What exactly does a notice under s.143(2) do, and what happens if it is never issued or issued late?

Which clock runs: s.153 limitation against the s.144C timeline

When an assessment goes through the DRP, does the nine-month Panel period run inside the s.153 limitation or on top of it?

Which orders you can actually appeal to the CIT(A)

Is the order I have received an appealable order under section 246A, and what if I have already accepted it?

s.270A and s.270AA: the statutory position

The assessment order says penalty under s.270A. What is that section, how is the amount worked out, and can I just pay and be done with it?

s.92CA: the reference to the Transfer Pricing Officer, and what the TPO's order binds

My Assessing Officer has sent my transfer pricing case to a Transfer Pricing Officer. Can I stop the reference, and if the TPO fixes a price, is my Assessing Officer obliged to accept it?

Worked examples

Notice situations that pass through the ao — assessment stage stage, worked through in order.
A 30% disallowance for TDS you did not deduct The AO has disallowed freight, commission and testing charges under s.40(a)(ia) — which of those disallowances can actually be removed? 7 steps · 18 authorities · s.40(a)(ia), s.201, s.194C, s.194H A Black Money Act assessment under s.10(3) on an account opened in 2003, valued at every deposit ever made into it The Black Money Act assessment values my client's Geneva account at the total of every deposit since 2003 rather than the balance - how is the year of charge fixed, what does the valuation rule actually say, and what follows the order? 8 steps · 25 authorities · BMA s.3, BMA s.4, BMA s.10(1), BMA s.10(3) A cancellation notice on the registration and an exemption denial in the same season Our trust charges course fees and paid rent to a trustee — can they cancel the registration and tax the whole of our income? 7 steps · 18 authorities · s.12AB, s.11, s.13, s.2(15) A captive power unit's transfer to the company's own factory revalued from Rs 6.95 to Rs 3.60 a unit, and Rs 20,10,00,000 of the s.80-IA deduction gone The officer has valued the power my captive plant supplies to my own factory at the rate the distribution company pays me for surplus instead of the tariff it charges industrial consumers - what does s.80-IA(8) actually require, and does it matter that the transfer is a specified domestic transaction? 8 steps · 21 authorities · s.80-IA, s.80-IA(8), s.80-IA(5), s.80-IA(4) A complaint under s.276C(1) and s.277 against a company and two of its directors, filed while the quantum appeal is still before the Tribunal They have launched a prosecution for evasion while my appeal is pending - can they do that, and what happens to the complaint if the addition is deleted later? 8 steps · 35 authorities · s.276C, s.276C(1), s.277, s.278E A consultant who filed at six per cent under s.44AD, recast at fifty per cent, and then told that no presumptive section applies to him at all The officer says my work is technical consultancy so s.44AD is shut to me, and that my receipts are above the s.44ADA ceiling so that section is shut too - where does that leave me on income, books, audit and penalty? 8 steps · 32 authorities · s.44ADA, s.44AD, s.44AD(6), s.44AD(4) A demerger sanctioned in February 2024, a loss of Rs 62,00,00,000 that moved with the undertaking, and a reference now before the Approving Panel The officer says our court-sanctioned demerger was an impermissible avoidance arrangement and the s.144BA reference is already with the Approving Panel - what is left to argue, and where do I take it if the directions go against us? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.95, s.95(1), s.95(2), s.96 A division sold for a lump sum of Rs 46,00,00,000, broken up by the officer and then recomputed at fair market value The officer says our business transfer was not a slump sale because the schedule carried values, has taxed the depreciable assets separately, and has in the alternative substituted a fair market value of Rs 58,70,00,000 for the price - which of those can he do? 8 steps · 21 authorities · s.50B, s.2(42C), s.50, s.2(47) A hundred and eight days on a refinery site, a service permanent establishment asserted under article 5(2)(l), and the whole receipt taxed at forty per cent The officer says my US client's engineers crossed the ninety-day line and has taxed the entire contract receipt as business profits - which limb of article 5 is he actually on, and how much of the receipt can article 7 reach? 8 steps · 18 authorities · s.9(1)(i), s.5(2), s.90, s.90(2) A hundred per cent of the shares moved to a new Indian subsidiary of the same foreign parent, and the first profitable year lost the whole brought-forward loss The shares of my closely held company moved from the foreign parent to that parent's new Indian subsidiary, and the officer has struck out the brought-forward business loss, the unabsorbed depreciation, the house property loss and the capital loss under s.79 - how much of that can I get back? 7 steps · 21 authorities · s.79, s.79(1), s.79(2), s.79(2)(a) A joint development agreement of 2021, a partial completion certificate in February 2025, and three flats the landowner sold in January I offered my joint development gain in the year of the completion certificate under s.45(5A) - the officer says I sold part of my share first and the whole gain belongs to the year of the agreement. Is he right, and what follows? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.45(5A), s.45, s.48, s.2(47) A large demand, a fresh appeal, and the officer wants 20 per cent now The appeal is filed and the officer says pay 20 per cent or face recovery - what actually has to be paid? 6 steps · 17 authorities · s.220(6), s.156, s.254(2A) A machine that reached the factory in March and ran in May, a generator that never ran, and a godown bought without a registered deed The officer has knocked out my depreciation because the assets were not put to use in the year - which of those heads can I actually save, and what does the block of assets do for me? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.32, s.32(1), s.32(1)(iia), s.32(2) A partial partition in 2021, a total partition memorandum in 2023, and an officer who has recorded that no partition took place The family divided the properties and every member has been returning his own share since, but the officer has refused to enquire into the partition and has assessed the whole income on the HUF - what is actually open to me? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.171, s.171(1), s.171(2), s.171(3) A partner retires on 30 September 2024 taking a flat and Rs 90,00,000, after the firm revalued its land My firm revalued its land, credited the surplus to all four partners and then paid one of them out in cash and a flat when he retired - what is the firm taxed on, and is the partner taxed as well? 8 steps · 20 authorities · s.45(4), s.9B, s.48, s.45 A penalty notice equal to the whole tax, nearly two years after the order that held the company in default The TDS officer held us in default under s.201 for not deducting and for deducting under the wrong section, and now a s.271C notice proposes a penalty equal to the entire tax - what actually has to be answered? 8 steps · 46 authorities · s.271C, s.201(1), s.201(1A), s.273B A presumptive return, an AIS mismatch, and an audit penalty I declared 8 per cent under the presumptive scheme - can the AO add my cash deposits and penalise me for not getting audited? 7 steps · 17 authorities · s.44AD, s.69A, s.115BBE, s.271B A prosecution show-cause for TDS that was paid, only late We deposited the TDS with interest before any notice - can the company and its directors still be prosecuted? 6 steps · 12 authorities · s.276B, s.278B, s.279 A prosecution show-cause for two years where no return was filed The department wants to prosecute me for two years I never filed. I filed as soon as they asked, and all the tax was already paid by deduction and advance tax. How much trouble am I actually in? 8 steps · 15 authorities · s.276CC, s.278E, s.279, s.139(1) A refund determined thirty-four months after the return, with interest under s.244A run from the wrong date and part of it taken against another year My refund came three years late, the interest under s.244A was computed from a date that appears nowhere in the section, and part of the money was set off against a demand under appeal - how do I get the rest? 8 steps · 27 authorities · s.244A, s.244A(1)(a), s.244A(1)(aa), s.244A(1A) A refund taken against two disputed demands - one stayed on payment of twenty per cent, the other with the stay application still undecided The processing centre has set my refund off against demands for two years that are both under appeal, and recovery of one of them is stayed - could it do that, and what do I do now that the money has gone? 8 steps · 31 authorities · s.245, s.220(6), s.156, s.244A A return revised to bring in a survey surrender, and an officer who says it was never a valid revision We revised the return within time to bring in what was surrendered in a survey, and the officer now says s.139(5) does not cover a deliberate understatement and that the original return stands - how do we answer that? 9 steps · 40 authorities · s.139(5), s.133A, s.292C, s.139(1) A revision notice for an issue the original assessment already examined The Commissioner wants to revise an item the officer did look at - and is he even in time? 6 steps · 10 authorities · s.263, s.147 A Rule 8D disallowance of Rs 1,12,40,000 against exempt income of Rs 6,40,000, and an earlier year with no exempt income at all The officer has disallowed under s.14A more than seventeen times the exempt income I actually earned, and he has done the same in a year where I earned none - how much of that survives, and does the 2022 amendment change the answer? 8 steps · 21 authorities · s.14A, s.14A(1), s.14A(2), s.14A(3) A running current account with the family company, and the peak debit of Rs 1,18,00,000 taxed as deemed dividend The officer has taxed the highest debit balance on our running account with the family company as deemed dividend under s.2(22)(e) in my hands, and made a protective addition of the same sum on the firm that actually received the money - how much of that survives? 7 steps · 23 authorities · s.2(22)(e), s.2(22), s.115-O, s.194 A s.133(6) notice for six years of records about a supplier under investigation, with nothing pending and no approval on the face of it A s.133(6) notice has come asking for six years of records about a supplier who is under investigation, and no proceeding is pending against me. Must I answer it, how much of it, and can my own reply be used to reopen my years? 8 steps · 45 authorities · s.133(6), s.133, s.133C, s.135 A s.139(9) notice on a turnover difference between Form 3CD and the return, answered eight months after the fifteen days ran out The processing centre called my return defective, the fifteen days have gone and the portal now shows the return as invalid - is the loss carry-forward and the deduction gone, and what do I do first? 8 steps · 55 authorities · s.139(9), s.139(9) proviso, s.139(9) Explanation, s.139(1) A s.148 notice for AY 2019-20 arrived in my father's name three years after he died Is a reassessment notice on a dead person curable, and should the legal heir reply to it at all? 7 steps · 11 authorities · s.148, s.148A, s.159, s.292B A s.148 notice for AY 2020-21 arrived in May 2025 alleging Rs 62 lakh escaped Is this notice inside the s.149 window at all, and does the Rs 50 lakh limb actually apply to this year? 7 steps · 11 authorities · s.148, s.149, s.148A, s.151 A s.148A show-cause for AY 2022-23 built on an Insight flag the return already answers How do I answer a s.148A show-cause whose only information is a portal flag that the return already discloses? 7 steps · 14 authorities · s.148A, s.148, s.149, s.68 A s.148A(b) notice that described an appraisal report, gave seven days, and produced the report for the first time as an annexure to the s.148A(d) order The show-cause never gave me the material it relied on and the officer annexed it only to the order rejecting my reply - what does that actually get me? 8 steps · 29 authorities · s.148A, s.148A(b), s.148A(d), s.148 A s.153C notice for seven years landed after a search on the builder we sold land to What must the Department have done before it can assess me on the back of somebody else's search? 7 steps · 18 authorities · s.153C, s.153A, s.132, s.153D A s.154 application refused in three lines, an assessment nobody appealed, and a demand that is now taking next year's refund My rectification has been rejected as debatable, the assessment is two years old and was never appealed, and the demand is being recovered - what is actually left to me? 8 steps · 53 authorities · s.154, s.154(1A), s.154(3), s.154(7) A s.201 order on four remittances to a Netherlands company, on the ground that the residence certificate was obtained only after the money left My client remitted design fees to a Netherlands company without deducting, relying on article 7, and the officer says s.90(4) bars the treaty because the residence certificate was obtained later - is that the end of it? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.90, s.90(2), s.90(4), s.90(5) A s.24(1) benami notice and a same-day provisional attachment over three properties bought between 2014 and 2019 An Initiating Officer has issued a s.24(1) notice calling my client a beneficial owner and attached three properties the same day - what do I answer, and does it matter that two of them were bought before November 2016? 8 steps · 16 authorities · Benami s.24(1), Benami s.24(3), Benami s.24(4), Benami s.24(5) A s.43B(h) disallowance of Rs 1,62,00,000 where half the Udyam-registered suppliers are traders The Assessing Officer has disallowed everything I still owed to Udyam-registered suppliers at the year end under s.43B(h) - which of those suppliers actually count, and when do I get the deduction back? 8 steps · 27 authorities · s.43B(h), s.43B, s.43B first proviso, s.143(3) A shop sold in June 2023, Rs 95,00,000 paid to a builder, the balance left in a savings account, and an exemption confined to what was spent My client never opened a capital gains account and the officer has cut his s.54F exemption down to what he actually paid the builder - is the belated return argument any use to me, and what is left after it? 8 steps · 25 authorities · s.54, s.54F, s.54(2), s.54F(1) A short deduction intimation at twenty per cent on royalty to a German licensor who has no permanent account number I withheld at the ten per cent treaty rate on royalty to a German company with no Indian permanent account number and the system has raised a short deduction demand at twenty per cent - which argument do I run first? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.206AA, s.206AA(7), s.195, s.90(2) A surrender signed at midnight in a survey, retracted five weeks later Our partner surrendered Rs 1.2 crore during a survey and we have since retracted with a stock reconciliation - can the assessment still rest on that statement? 7 steps · 16 authorities · s.133A, s.132(4), s.145, s.69 A TDS survey says your consultants are employees The TDS officer has treated the hospital as an assessee in default for deducting under s.194J instead of s.192 — how much of that demand can be taken off? 6 steps · 15 authorities · s.201, s.192, s.194J A two-line order refusing stay, a garnishee on the bank a fortnight later, and a recovery certificate before the appeal was even listed My stay application was rejected in two lines telling me to pay twenty per cent, the bank account has been emptied under s.226(3) and a recovery certificate has gone to the Tax Recovery Officer - what can I still do? 8 steps · 36 authorities · s.220(6), s.220(2), s.226(3), s.222 An amalgamation with an appointed date a year and a half before the sanction, a forging unit running at thirty-four per cent, and the whole accumulated loss disallowed We absorbed a loss-making group company under an NCLT-sanctioned scheme and the officer has refused the whole s.72A set-off - wrong year, no three-year business, Rule 9C already broken, no Form 62 - how much of that is right? 7 steps · 24 authorities · s.72A, s.72A(1), s.72A(2), s.72A(3) An APA covering AY 2023-24 is signed, the modified return is filed under s.92CD, and the officer reopens the covered year anyway My APA covers the year and I filed the modified return under s.92CD and offered the additional income - can the Assessing Officer reopen that year and re-examine whether I complied with the agreement? 8 steps · 26 authorities · s.92CC, s.92CC(4), s.92CC(7), s.92CC(9A) An intimation that disallowed two claims before anyone had answered, a rectification nobody has decided, and next year's refund gone The processing centre disallowed my deductions and raised a demand without ever hearing me, my rectification has been sitting for seven months and my next refund has been taken against the demand - what do I do first? 8 steps · 25 authorities · s.143(1), s.143(1)(a), s.154, s.154(8) Ancestral farm land sold to a developer for Rs 3,85,00,000, and an officer who measured the distance from a population figure nobody published I declared no capital gain on the sale of the family field because it is rural agricultural land - the officer says it is within the distance limit and that it had stopped being agricultural anyway. What decides this? 8 steps · 25 authorities · s.2(14), s.2(14)(iii), s.2(1A), s.10(1) Cash and loose sheets found in a search, taxed at the special rate The AO has taxed everything found at my premises as unexplained money at the special rate - can I get out of the section, or at least off the rate? 6 steps · 18 authorities · s.69A, s.115BBE, s.292C, s.132(4) Cash and two ledgers taken by the police, requisitioned under s.132A four weeks later, and a block assessment notice built on them The police seized my client's cash and books and the department has requisitioned them under s.132A - what can be assessed out of that, and from what date does anything run? 8 steps · 31 authorities · s.132A, s.132, s.132B, s.158BA Cash freight and cash purchases disallowed, books rejected, and a penalty on the land sale Every one of my cash payments was under the limit and the officer has still disallowed the lot, thrown out my books and now wants a penalty equal to the cash I took on my plot. Where do I start? 8 steps · 17 authorities · s.40A(3), s.40A(3A), s.145(3), s.144 Circle rate substituted, and the reinvestment exemption refused The AO taxed me on the stamp duty value and denied my exemption because the new flat is in my wife's name - is either move safe? 7 steps · 16 authorities · s.50C, s.54F, s.45, s.48 Demonetisation deposits out of sales already in the books Our November 2016 deposits came out of recorded cash sales that were taxed as turnover - can the AO add them again as unexplained? 6 steps · 11 authorities · s.68, s.145, s.144, s.115BBE Eleven comparables, an arm's length range the tested party falls below, and a draft order with thirty days on it The Transfer Pricing Officer has built a dataset of eleven comparables and priced my captive unit at the median - what has to happen in the next thirty days, and how much of the adjustment can the exclusions actually remove? 8 steps · 39 authorities · s.92CA, s.92CA(1), s.92CA(3), s.92CA(3A) Form 10-IC filed 108 days after the due date, the 22 per cent rate refused in an intimation nobody appealed, and the condonation window closing in March My company ticked s.115BAA in the return but Form 10-IC went in late, the CPC has taxed it at the normal rate, the rectification has been refused and the appeal time is long gone - what is actually left? 7 steps · 23 authorities · s.115BAA, s.115BAA(2), s.115BAA(3), s.115BAA(5) Form 10AB for regular approval under s.10(23C)(vi) refused, the provisional approval cancelled, an exit tax of Rs 3,09,89,400 directed - and receipts that never crossed the sub-clause (iiiad) limit The Commissioner (Exemption) has refused our school society's regular approval under s.10(23C)(vi), cancelled the provisional approval and directed exit tax - what is left to us, and does the society even need the approval for these years? 8 steps · 39 authorities · s.10(23C), s.10(23C)(vi), s.10(23C)(iiiad), s.10(23C)(iiiab) Form 67 uploaded three days after the assessment year ended, and the whole foreign tax credit struck out in a s.143(1) intimation The processing centre has disallowed my entire foreign tax credit because Form 67 went in after the end of the assessment year - is Rule 128(9) mandatory, and what is the route now? 7 steps · 15 authorities · s.90, s.90(2), s.91, Rule 128 Four named beneficiaries, a clause letting the trustees vary the shares, and the whole of AY 2024-25 charged at the maximum marginal rate The officer has read a discretion clause in my family trust deed as making the shares indeterminate and charged everything under s.164 at the maximum marginal rate with surcharge at the top slab - how much of that can I get back? 8 steps · 17 authorities · s.160, s.160(1)(iv), s.161, s.161(1) Four provisions added back to book profit, and a clause (iii) set-off reduced to nil The officer has added our provisions for doubtful debts, warranty and leave encashment to book profit, carried the Rule 8D figure across under clause (f), and wiped out the brought-forward loss set-off - how much of that can he do to accounts adopted at the annual general meeting? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.115JB, s.115JB(2), s.115JAA, s.14A Four transfers in one family in one year, and the client wants to know which of them he has to pay tax on My family moved money and a flat around this year and there was a wedding. Which of those receipts is taxable, in whose hands, and for how much? 8 steps · 18 authorities · s.56(2)(x), s.56(2)(vii), s.49(4), s.50C Four years of wage-revision arrears paid in one month, relief claimed in the return, and a s.143(1) intimation that took all of it back The processing unit has disallowed my client's s.89 relief because Form 10E was not on the portal when the return was processed - can the relief still be had, and was the employer wrong to deduct on the whole amount? 8 steps · 17 authorities · s.89, s.15, s.192, s.192(2A) HRA on rent paid to your wife, and interest on the flat you let out The AO says I cannot claim HRA on rent paid to my spouse while also deducting housing loan interest — can he refuse both? 7 steps · 15 authorities · s.10(13A), s.24, s.17(2) I have counted my days three ways and got three answers - which one do I file on? I left India in June for a job abroad and came back for two months in the winter. My day count comes to somewhere between 119 and 122. Am I resident for the year, and what does that pull into the Indian return? 8 steps · 25 authorities · s.6, s.6(1), s.6(1A), s.6(6) I left for a job in Dubai in October 2023 and the officer has taxed the Dubai salary too I moved abroad for employment in the middle of FY 2023-24. Am I resident for AY 2024-25, and can the department tax the salary I earned after I left India? 8 steps · 16 authorities · s.6(1), s.6(6), s.6(1A), s.5 I made money on some coins and lost it on others, and I want to know what the year actually costs before I file I traded on an Indian exchange and on a wallet abroad, took a token as a fee from a client, moved coins between my own wallets, and the exchange has already deducted on every sale. What is my real liability for FY 2025-26, and what can I set against it? 8 steps · 19 authorities · s.115BBH, s.2(47A), s.194S, s.2(47) I sold my flat below the ready reckoner value - what is the taxable gain, and in which year The registrar valued my flat well above what I sold it for, I spent money on it over the years and I paid off my brother and my tenant. What is my capital gain, and does it fall in the year of the agreement or the year of the deed? 8 steps · 29 authorities · s.45, s.48, s.2(47), s.50C I've put the plot money into a flat and into bonds - how much of the gain does that actually save? I sold a plot, paid part of the money to a builder for a flat and part into capital gain bonds, and I filed my return late. How much of the gain is actually exempt, and what have I already lost? 8 steps · 27 authorities · s.54F, s.54EC, s.54, s.54F(4) Intraday, index options, castor seed, currency futures and a copper hedge, all swept into one speculation business and set against nothing The officer has called my company's entire share and derivative activity a speculation business under the Explanation to s.73 and refused to set the loss off against my interest income - which of those transactions is actually speculative? 7 steps · 18 authorities · s.43(5), s.43(5)(a), s.43(5)(b), s.43(5)(c) Loans from identified lenders, but the AO wants the lender's source Our lenders confirmed the loans and gave PAN and bank statements - can the AO still add them because he doubts where the lenders got the money? 6 steps · 21 authorities · s.68, s.115BBE, s.269SS, s.271D My employer treated the whole of my house rent allowance as taxable, and the processing centre has now done the same I paid rent to my mother for half the year and moved cities in October. Payroll allowed me nothing. How much of my house rent allowance is actually exempt, and will the claim survive being looked at? 7 steps · 18 authorities · s.10(13A), Rule 2A, s.192, Rule 26C Notional rent on nineteen unsold flats, and a shop the officer says was never really vacant The officer has taxed rent I never received on flats I am trying to sell, refused vacancy allowance on a shop that stood empty for seven months, cut my interest and says my other rent is understated - how much of this survives? 7 steps · 15 authorities · s.22, s.23, s.23(1)(a), s.23(1)(b) One flat, two additions: the buyer taxed on the gap and the seller taxed on the same gap We bought a flat below the ready reckoner rate and the department has added the difference to my income and substituted the same figure in my uncle's sale price. Can both of those stand? 7 steps · 12 authorities · s.56(2)(x), s.50C, s.50C(2), s.194-IA One order treating a licence fee, an annual support charge and an implementation fee alike as royalty under Explanation 4 to s.9(1)(vi) The officer has treated my whole software remittance to a Singapore supplier as royalty and raised a short deduction order - how much of it survives the treaty definition, and which head is actually at risk? 8 steps · 18 authorities · s.9(1)(vi), s.9(1)(vii), s.90(2), s.195 One refund taken to pay an old demand, another simply not released The department adjusted my refund against a stayed demand and is sitting on a second one - what can be undone? 5 steps · 14 authorities · s.245, s.244A, s.220(6) One s.200A intimation charging s.234E fee for seven quarters, three of them before 1 June 2015, with a s.201 order and a penalty notice behind it The processing centre has charged Rs 200 a day on every TDS statement we filed late, including quarters going back to 2012, and there is a s.201 order and a penalty notice on top - what do I attack, and in what order? 8 steps · 22 authorities · s.234E, s.200A, s.200A(1)(c), s.200(3) Rs 1,42,00,000 written off in four parcels, disallowed as a provision, and added back to book profit as well The officer says I have not proved the debts went bad, that crediting a provision account is not a write-off, and that two of the parcels fail s.36(2) - which of those can I answer, and what is left if s.36(2) really does fail? 8 steps · 17 authorities · s.36(1)(vii), s.36(2), s.36(2)(i), s.37(1) Rs 1,42,70,000 of interest disallowed across six heads, from a sister-concern advance to a line that was not commissioned The officer has disallowed my interest because the money went to a group company, to a director and into a plant that was not running - how much of that is actually sustainable, and does it matter that my own funds are four times the advances? 8 steps · 23 authorities · s.36(1)(iii), s.37(1), s.14A, Rule 8D Rs 1,48,00,00,000 returned at ten per cent of gross, an officer who moves it into s.44DA, and Rs 26,64,00,000 of indirect tax added to receipts The officer says our oilfield services are fees for technical services effectively connected with our shore base, so s.44BB is out and s.44DA applies on the gross - how much of that survives, and does the goods and services tax we collected go into gross receipts? 8 steps · 20 authorities · s.44BB, s.44BB(1), s.44BB(2), s.44BB(3) Rs 24,00,000 of partners' remuneration disallowed in full because the deed said 'as mutually agreed' The officer has disallowed the whole of our partners' remuneration - the deed does not name a figure, he says one partner is not a working partner, and he has worked the ceiling on the net profit after remuneration. What is left of the claim? 7 steps · 16 authorities · s.40(b), s.40(b)(v), s.184, s.185 Rs 25,00,000 from the father's partner, taxed under s.56(2)(x) and added under s.68 in the alternative in the same order The officer has taxed money I received from someone who is not a relative under s.56(2)(x), and added the same amount under s.68 in the alternative at the higher rate - what is actually open to me? 8 steps · 33 authorities · s.56(2)(x), s.56(2)(x)(a), s.56(2)(vii), s.2(24) Rs 263,50,00,000 for shares of an Indian company bought in 2015, 2018 and 2019, and an officer who says the treaty covers none of them My Mauritius client sold shares of an unlisted Indian company acquired in three lots either side of 1 April 2017 - which lots does Article 13 still protect, and how do I get the over-withheld Rs 19,65,60,000 back? 8 steps · 12 authorities · DTAA art 13, s.9(1)(i), s.45, s.48 Rs 3.84 crore goes out on Monday and nobody here can tell me what to deduct on it A composite payment to a foreign vendor and a running bill to the Indian erector both go out this month. Which section applies to each line, on what amount, and what does it cost me if I have it wrong? 8 steps · 29 authorities · s.195, s.195(2), s.9(1)(vi), s.9(1)(vii) Rs 40,50,000 claimed under s.57 against interest from private lending, and an order that disallowed all of it in one paragraph The officer has disallowed everything I claimed under s.57 against my interest income - the interest I paid, the assistant's salary, a principal I wrote off - saying there is no direct nexus and the income is passive. How much of that can I get back? 8 steps · 16 authorities · s.57, s.57(i), s.57(ii), s.57(iii) Share premium added under s.68 in a private company The AO wants to tax our entire share issue as an unexplained credit because he doubts the investors - what do we actually have to prove? 6 steps · 20 authorities · s.68, s.56(2)(viib), s.115BBE Shares sold to the incoming investor at book value, and both sides assessed on the round price I sold my shares to the new investor at book value and the officer has taxed me on the price the company issued fresh shares at, and taxed the investor on the same amount. How do we answer that? 7 steps · 12 authorities · s.50CA, s.56(2)(x), s.48, s.49(4) Tax deducted on stock that cannot be sold, for money that never arrived My employer has deducted tax on my stock options at exercise, on a value I never received in cash, the shares cannot be sold, and part of what I got has since been bought back. What do I do now? 8 steps · 15 authorities · s.17(2)(vi), s.192, s.192(1C), s.197 Tax was deducted from your money and the portal says it was not The buyer deducted TDS on my property sale but it does not appear in my 26AS and CPC has raised a demand — how do I get the credit? 6 steps · 18 authorities · s.143(1), s.154, s.194-IA, s.201 The department has my exchange data for FY 2023-24 and says my crypto income is a tenth of what it should be Exchange data shows Rs 6.73 crore of receipts against the Rs 11.6 lakh I put in Schedule VDA, and there is now a s.148A show-cause. How do I answer it, and what do I have to concede? 8 steps · 24 authorities · s.148A, s.149, s.115BBH, s.194S The faceless order for AY 2022-23 came without the video hearing we asked for twice Does a faceless assessment order survive when a requested personal hearing was never given and the reply window was four days? 7 steps · 16 authorities · s.144B, s.143(3), s.68, s.115BBE The penalty notice says 'under-reporting / misreporting' and nothing else The s.270A notice never says which limb is charged - can the penalty be resisted on that alone? 6 steps · 11 authorities · s.270A, s.270AA, s.274 The purchases are called accommodation entries, the whole invoice value is proposed, and a penalty of the same amount alongside The notice wants to add my entire Rs 3.42 crore of purchases, not the profit in them, and there is a separate penalty show-cause for the same figure. The supplier's statement has not been given to me and the goods are in my stock register. Where do I start? 7 steps · 19 authorities · s.69C, s.37(1), s.115BBE, s.271AAD The s.148 notice for AY 2021-22 came from our ward officer, not through automated allocation Is a reassessment notice issued by the jurisdictional Assessing Officer rather than the faceless unit still worth challenging? 7 steps · 15 authorities · s.148, s.148A, s.151A, s.144B The State audit finished in January, the return went in late, and the whole 80P deduction has gone on the date alone Our society filed after the due date because the statutory audit was not finished. Is the deduction really lost on that alone, and what happens to the penalties on our cash counter and the tax on our withdrawals? 8 steps · 25 authorities · s.80P, s.80P(2)(c), s.80P(4), s.80AC Three interests, a refund taken back, and an assessment order that says only that interest is to be charged as per law The assessment has charged me s.234A, s.234B and s.234C, withdrawn the refund I was paid at processing and charged interest on that too - what can I actually fight, and where do I take it? 8 steps · 32 authorities · s.234A, s.234B, s.234C, s.234D Three years of Schedule FA left blank, and a notice proposing Rs 10 lakh for each of them I never filled Schedule FA for my foreign brokerage account or my employer's stock plan, and the notice proposes Rs 30 lakh of penalty. Is it automatic, and does the higher threshold that came in recently help me? 8 steps · 12 authorities · BMA s.43, s.139(1), s.6(6), s.5 Two bank accounts frozen and a flat sale treated as void The recovery officer has garnished my accounts and says a sale I made in 2023 is void - what can be reversed? 7 steps · 16 authorities · s.226(3), s.281, s.281B Two s.142(1) notices nobody answered, and a s.144 assessment that put gross profit at fifteen per cent My client ignored the s.142(1) notices and now has a best-judgment assessment estimating gross profit at fifteen per cent with separate additions on top - how much of that can I actually attack? 8 steps · 44 authorities · s.142(1), s.144, s.145(3), s.145 What the housing loan actually takes off the rent, on a flat that was empty for five months I am working out my house property income for the year. The flat was let for seven months and lay empty for five, I am still running the interest from before I got possession, and there is a second flat in joint names - how much of the loan actually comes off, and what is the officer going to attack? 8 steps · 22 authorities · s.22, s.23, s.23(1)(a), s.23(1)(b) Your society's deposit interest, and whether 80P still reaches it The AO has taxed our fixed deposit interest as other sources and denied 80P because it is not derived from the credit business — is the claim gone? 6 steps · 16 authorities · s.80P, s.80AC, s.56