Amendment of section 288.
77. In section 288 of the Income-tax Act, with effect from the 1st day of June, 2015,-
(i) after sub-section (2), for the Explanation, the following Explanation shall be substituted, namely:-
‘Explanation.-In this section, “accountant” means a chartered accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949) who holds a valid certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act, but does not include [except for the purposes of representing the assessee under sub-section (1)]-
(a) in case of an assessee, being a company, the person who is not eligible for appointment as an auditor of the said company in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 141 of the Companies Act, 2013; (18 of 2013)or
(b) in any other case,-
(i) the assessee himself or in case of the assessee, being a firm or association of persons or Hindu undivided family, any partner of the firm, or member of the association or the family;
(ii) in case of the assessee, being a trust or institution, any person referred to in clauses (a), (b), (c) and (cc) of sub-section (3) of section 13;
(iii) in case of any person other than persons referred to in sub-clauses (i) and (ii), the person who is competent to verify the return under section 139 in accordance with the provisions of section 140;
(iv) any relative of any of the persons referred to in sub-clauses (i), (ii) and (iii);
(v) an officer or employee of the assessee;
(vi) an individual who is a partner, or who is in the employment, of an officer or employee of the assessee;
(vii) an individual who, or his relative or partner-
(I) is holding any security of, or interest in, the assessee: Provided that the relative may hold security or interest in the assessee of the face value not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees;
(II) is indebted to the assessee: Provided that the relative may be indebted to the assessee for an amount not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees;
(III) has given a guarantee or provided any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the assessee: Provided that the relative may give guarantee or provide any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the assessee for an amount not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees;
(viii) a person who, whether directly or indirectly, has business relationship with the assessee of such nature as may be prescribed;
(ix) a person who has been convicted by a court of an offence involving fraud and a period of ten years has not elapsed from the date of such conviction.’;
(ii) in sub-section (4), for the portion beginning with brackets, letter and words “(c) who has become an insolvent,” and ending with the words, brackets and letter “in the case of a person referred to in sub-clause (c)”, the following shall be substituted, namely:-
“(c) who has become an insolvent; or
(d) who has been convicted by a court for an offence involving fraud, shall be qualified to represent an assessee under sub-section (1), for all times in the case of a person referred to in clause (a), for such time as the Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may by order determine in the case of a person referred to in clause (b), for the period during which the insolvency continues in the case of a person referred to in clause (c), and for a period of ten years from the date of conviction in the case of person referred to in clause (d).”;
(iii) after sub-section (7), the following Explanation shall be inserted, namely:- ‘Explanation.-For the purposes of this section, “relative” in relation to an individual, means-
(a) spouse of the individual;
(b) brother or sister of the individual;
(c) brother or sister of the spouse of the individual;
(d) any lineal ascendant or descendant of the individual;
(e) any lineal ascendant or descendant of the spouse of the individual;
(f) spouse of a person referred to in clause (b), clause (c), clause (d) or clause (e);
(g) any lineal descendant of a brother or sister of either the individual or of the spouse of the individual.’.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 77 of the Bill seeks to amend section 288 of the Income tax Act relating to appearance by authorised representative.
The existing Explanation below sub-section (2) of aforesaid section provides that in the aforesaid section, “accountant” means a chartered accountant within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949, and includes, in relation to any State, any person who by virtue of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 226 of the Companies Act, 1956, is entitled to be appointed to act as an auditor of companies registered in that State.
It is proposed to substitute the said Explanation so as to provide that the expression “accountant” means a chartered accountant as defined in clause (b) of sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 who holds a valid certificate of practice under sub-section (1) of section 6 of that Act. It is further proposed to provide that the accountant shall not include the following persons (except for the purposes of representing an assessee under sub-section (1))-
(a) in case of an assessee, being a company, the person who is not eligible for appointment as an auditor of the said company in accordance with the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 141 of the Companies Act, 2013; or
(b) in any other case, (i) the assessee himself or in case of the assessee, being a firm or association of persons or Hindu undivided family, any partner of the firm, or member of the association or the family; (ii) in case of the assessee, being a trust or institution, any persons referred to in clauses (a),(b), (c) and (cc) of sub-section (3) of section 13; (iii) in case of a person other than persons referred to in sub-clause (i) and (ii), the person who is competent to verify the return under section 139 in accordance with the provisions of the section 140; (iv) any relative of any of the persons referred to in sub-clauses (i),(ii) and (iii); (v) an officer or employee of the assessee; (vi) an individual who is a partner, or who is in the employment, of an officer or employee of the assessee; (vii) an individual who, or his relative or partner is holding any security of or interest in the assessee. It is also provided that the relative may hold security or interest in the assessee of the face value not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees; an individual who, or his relative or partner is indebted to the assessee. It is also provided that the relative may be indebted to the assessee for an amount not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees; an individual who, or his relative or partner has given a guarantee or provided any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the assessee. It is also provided that the relative may give guarantee or provide any security in connection with the indebtedness of any third person to the assessee for an amount not exceeding one hundred thousand rupees; (viii) a person who, whether directly or indirectly, has business relationship with the assessee of such nature as may be prescribed; (ix) a person who has been convicted by a court of an offence involving fraud and a period of ten years has not elapsed from the date of such conviction.
It is further proposed to amend sub-section (4) of the said section so as to provide that a person who has been convicted by a court of an offence involving fraud shall not be qualified to represent an assessee under sub-section (1) of the said section for a period of ten years from the date of conviction.
It is also proposed to insert an Explanation at the end of the said section so as to provide that the expression “relative” in relation to an individual means (a) spouse of the individual; (b) brother or sister of the individual; (c) brother or sister of the spouse of the individual; (d) any lineal ascendant or descendant of the individual; (e) any lineal ascendant or descendant of the spouse of the individual; (f) spouse of a person referred to in clause (b), clause (c), clause (d) or clause (e); (g) any lineal descendant of a brother or sister of either the individual or of the spouse of the individual.
These amendments will take effect from 1st June, 2015.
