Amendment of section 245-O.
80. In section 245-O of the Income-tax Act,-
‘(a) in sub-section (3),-
(i) in clause (a), after the words “a Judge of the Supreme Court”, the words “or the Chief Justice of a High Court or for at least seven years a Judge of a High Court” shall be inserted;
(ii) for clause (c), the following clause shall be substituted, namely:-
“(c) a revenue Member-
(i) from the Indian Revenue Service, who is, or is qualified to be, a Member of the Board; or
(ii) from the Indian Customs and Central Excise Service, who is, or is qualified to be, a Member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, on the date of occurrence of vacancy;”;
(iii) in clause (d), after the words “Government of India”, the words “on the date of occurrence of vacancy” shall be inserted;
(b) after sub-section (6), the following sub-sections shall be inserted, namely:-
“(6A) In the event of the occurrence of any vacancy in the office of the Chairman by reason of his death, resignation or otherwise, the senior-most Vice-chairman shall act as the Chairman until the date on which a new Chairman, appointed in accordance with the provisions of this Act to fill such vacancy, enters upon his office.
(6B) In case the Chairman is unable to discharge his functions owing to absence, illness or any other cause, the senior-most Vice-chairman shall discharge the functions of the Chairman until the date on which the Chairman resumes his duties.”.
Notes on Clauses:
Clause 80 of the Bill seeks to amend section 245-O of the Income-tax Act relating to the Authority for Advance Rulings.
Clause (a) of sub-section (3) of the aforesaid section provides that the Chairman of the Authority for Advance Rulings shall be a person who has been a Judge of the Supreme Court.
It is proposed to amend the said clause (a) so as to provide that a person who has been the Chief Justice of a High Court or a Judge of a High Court for at least seven years shall also be eligible to be appointed as the Chairman of the Authority for Advance Rulings.
Clause (c) of sub-section (3) of the aforesaid section provides that the revenue Member of the Authority for Advance Rulings shall be a person from the Indian Revenue Service, who is of the rank of Principal Chief Commissioner or Principal Director General or Chief Commissioner or Director General.
It is proposed to amend the said clause (c) so as to provide that an officer from the Indian Revenue Service who is, or is qualified to be, a Member of the Central Board of Direct Taxes or an officer from the Indian Customs and Central Excise Service, who is, or is qualified to be, a Member of the Central Board of Excise and Customs as on the date of occurrence of the said vacancy shall be eligible to be appointed as the revenue Member of the Authority for Advance Rulings.
It is further proposed to amend clause (d) of the said subsection (3) so as to provide that eligibility for appointment of law Member shall also be determined on the date of occurrence of vacancy.
It is also proposed to insert sub-sections (6A) and (6B) in the aforesaid section so as to provide that in the event the office of Chairman falls vacant or in case the Chairman is unable to discharge his duties, the senior-most Vicechairman shall act as Chairman or shall discharge the functions of the Chairman till such time the new Chairman enters upon his office or the Chairman resumes his duties, as the case may be.
This amendment will take effect from 1st April, 2017.
