Amendment of section 251.
101. In section 251 of the Income-tax Act,––
(i) for the marginal heading, the following marginal heading “Powers of the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals)” shall be substituted;
(ii) after sub-section (1), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:––
“(1A) In disposing of an appeal, the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) shall have the following powers-
(a) in an appeal against an order of assessment, he may confirm, reduce, enhance or annul the assessment;
(b) in an appeal against an order imposing a penalty, he may confirm or cancel such order or vary it so as either to enhance or to reduce the penalty;
(c) in any other case, he may pass such orders in the appeal as he thinks fit.”;
(iii) in sub-section (2), for the words and brackets “Commissioner (Appeals)”, the words and brackets “Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals), as the case may be,” shall be substituted;
(iv) in the Explanation,––
(a) for the words and brackets “an appeal, the Commissioner (Appeals),”, the words and brackets “an appeal, the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals),” shall be substituted;
(b) for the words and brackets “raised before the Commissioner (Appeals)”, the words and brackets “raised before the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals), as the case may be,” shall be substituted.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 101 of the Bill seeks to amend section 251 of the Income-tax Act relating to powers of the Commissioner (Appeals).
It is proposed to substitute the marginal heading of the said section to include the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) also in the said heading.
It is further proposed to insert a new sub-section (1A) of the said section so as to provide that in disposing of an appeal, the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) shall have powers to confirm, reduce, enhance or annul the assessment in an appeal against an order of assessment, confirm or cancel or vary an order so as either to enhance or to reduce the penalty in an appeal against an order imposing a penalty, and in any other case, to pass such orders in the appeal as he thinks fit.
It is also proposed to amend sub-section (2) and the Explanation to that section to make the provisions therein applicable to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) by inserting a reference to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) wherever the term “Commissioner (Appeals)” occurs.
These amendments will take effect from 1st April, 2023.
