Amendment of section 253.
90. In section 253 of the Income-tax Act,––
(A) in sub-section (1),––
(i) in clause (d), for the word and figures “section 147”, the words, figures and letters “section 147 or section 153A or section 153C” shall be substituted with effect from the 1st day of October, 2009;
(ii) after clause (d), the following clause shall be inserted with effect from the 1st day of April, 2013, namely:––
“(e) an order passed by an Assessing Officer under sub-section (3) of section 143 or section 147 or section 153A or section 153C with the approval of the Commissioner as referred to in sub-section (12) of section 144BA or an order passed under section 154 or section 155 in respect of such order;”;
(B) with effect from the 1st day of July, 2012,––
(i) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:––
“(2A) The Commissioner may, if he objects to any direction issued by the Dispute Resolution Panel under sub-section (5) of section 144C in respect of any objection filed on or after the 1st day of July, 2012, by the assessee under sub-section (2) of section 144C in pursuance of which the Assessing Officer has passed an order completing the assessment or reassessment, direct the Assessing Officer to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the order.”;
(ii) after sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely:––
“(3A) Every appeal under sub-section (2A) shall be filed within sixty days of the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is passed by the Assessing Officer in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel under sub-section (5) of section 144C.”;
(iii) for sub-section (4), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:––
“(4) The Assessing Officer or the assessee, as the case may be, on receipt of notice that an appeal against the order of the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) or, as the case may be, the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Assessing Officer in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel has been preferred under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) or sub-section
(2A) by the other party, may, notwithstanding that he may not have appealed against such order or any part thereof; within thirty days of the receipt of the notice, file a memorandum of cross-objections, verified in the prescribed manner, against any part of the order of the Assessing Officer (in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel) or Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) or, as the case may be, the Commissioner (Appeals), and such memorandum shall be disposed of by the Appellate Tribunal as if it were an appeal presented within the time specified in sub-section (3) or sub-section (3A).”.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 90 of the Bill seeks to amend section 253 of the Income-tax Act relating to appeals to the Appellate Tribunal.
The existing provisions contained in clause (ba) of sub-section (1) of the aforesaid section 253 provide that any assessee aggrieved by an order passed by an Assessing Officer under sub-section (3) of section 143 or section 147 in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel or an order passed under section 154 in respect of such order may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal.
It is proposed to amend clause (d) of the aforesaid sub-section (1) so as to provide that any assessee aggrieved by an order passed by an Assessing Officer under section 153A or section 153C in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel or an order passed under section 154 in respect of such order may also appeal to the Appellate Tribunal.
This amendment will take effect retrospectively from 1st October, 2009.
It is further proposed to amend the aforesaid sub-section (1) to insert clause (e) in the said sub-section to provide that an order of assessment or reassessment passed with approval of the Commissioner under sub-section (12) of newly inserted section 144BA or an order under section 154 or section 155 passed in respect of such an order against which appeal lies before the Appellate Tribunal.
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.
It is also proposed to insert a new sub-section (2A) in the aforesaid section so as to provide that the Commissioner may, if he objects to any direction issued by the Dispute Resolution Panel under sub-section (5) of section 144C in respect of any objection filed on or after the 1st day of July, 2012, by the assessee under sub-section (2) of section 144C in pursuance of which the Assessing Officer has passed an order completing the assessment or reassessment, direct the Assessing Officer to appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against the order.
It is also proposed to insert a new sub-section (3A) in the aforesaid section so as to provide that every appeal under sub-section (2A) shall be filed within sixty days of the date on which the order sought to be appealed against is passed by the Assessing Officer in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel under sub-section (5) of section 144C.
It is also proposed to amend sub-section (4) so as to provide that an appeal can also be filed by the Assessing Officer against the order passed by him in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel.
These amendments will take effect from 1st July, 2012.
