Amendment of section 144C.
60. In section 144C of the Income-tax Act,—
(a) in sub-section (4), for the words and figures “in section 153”, the words, figures and letter “in section 153 or section 153B” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of October, 2009;
(b) after sub-section (8), the following Explanation shall be inserted and shall be deemed to have been inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2009, namely:—
“Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that the power of the Dispute Resolution Panel to enhance the variation shall include and shall be deemed always to have included the power to consider any matter arising out of the assessment proceedings relating to the draft order, notwithstanding that such matter was raised or not by the eligible assessee.”;
(c) in sub-section (13), for the words and figures “in section 153”, the words, figures and letter “in section 153 or section 153B” shall be substituted and shall be deemed to have been substituted with effect from the 1st day of October, 2009;
(d) after sub-section (14), the following sub-section shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2013, namely:—
“(14A) The provisions of this section shall not apply to any assessment or reassessment order passed by the Assessing Officer with the prior approval of the Commissioner under sub-section (12) of section 144BA.”.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 60 of the Bill seeks to amend section 144C of the Income-tax Act relating to reference to dispute resolution panel.
The existing provisions contained in sub-section (4) of the aforesaid section 144C provide that the Assessing Officer shall, notwithstanding anything contained in section 153 of the Income-tax Act, pass the assessment order under sub-section (3) within one month from the end of the month in which the acceptance is received or the period of filing of objections under sub-section (2) expires. It is proposed to amend the aforesaid sub-section so as to give the reference of section 153B also in the said sub-section.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from 1st October, 2009.
The existing provisions of sub-section (8) of the aforesaid section 144C provide that the Dispute Resolution Panel may confirm, reduce or enhance the variations proposed in the draft order so, however, that it shall not set aside any proposed variation or issue any direction under sub-section (5) for further enquiry and passing of the assessment order.
It is proposed to insert an Explanation in the aforesaid sub-section so as to clarify that the power of the Dispute Resolution Panel to enhance the variation shall include and shall be deemed always to have included the power to consider any matter arising out of the assessment proceedings relating to the draft order, notwithstanding that such matter was raised or not by the eligible assessee.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from 1st April, 2009.
The existing provisions of sub-section (13) of the aforesaid section 144C provide that upon receipt of the directions issued under sub-section (5), the Assessing Officer shall, in conformity with the directions, complete, notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained in aforesaid section 153, the assessment without providing any further opportunity of being heard to the assessee, within one month from the end of the month in which such direction is received.
It is proposed to amend the aforesaid sub-section so as to give the reference of section 153B also in the said sub-section.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from 1st October, 2009.
It is proposed to insert a new sub-section (14A) in the aforesaid section 144C so as to provide that provisions of section144C shall not apply to an assessment or reassessment order passed by the Assessing Officer with the approval of the Commissioner in accordance with sub-section (12) of newly inserted section 144BA.
This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2013 and will, accordingly, apply in relation to the assessment year 2013-2014 and subsequent assessment years.
