CHAPTER II

INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES

[5. Income-tax authorities.—(1) There shall be the following classes of income-tax authorities for the purposes of this Act, namely:—

(a) the Central Board of Revenue,

[(aa) Directors of Inspection,]

(b)Commissioners of Income-tax,

(c) Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax who may be either Appellate Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax or Inspecting Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax,

(d) Income-tax Officers,

[(e) Inspectors of Income-tax.]

[(1A) The Central Government may appoint as many Directors of Inspection as it thinks fit, and Directors of Inspection shall, subject to the control of the Central Board of Revenue, perform such functions of any other Income-tax authority as may be assigned to them by the Central Government.]

[(2) The Central Government may appoint as many Commissioners of Income-tax as it thinks fit and they shall perform their functions in respect of such areas or of such persons or classes of persons or of such incomes or classes of incomes or of such cases or classes of cases as the Central Board of Revenue may direct, and where such directions have assigned to two or more Commissioners of Income-tax the same area or the same persons or classes of persons or the same income or classes of incomes or the same cases or classes of cases, they shall have concurrent jurisdiction subject to any orders which the Central Board of Revenue may make for the distribution and allocation of work to be performed.

(3) The Central Government may appoint as many Appellate or Inspecting Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax and Income-tax Officers of Class I service as it thinks fit, and the Commissioner may, subject to the rules and orders of the Central Government regulating the conditions of service of persons in public services and posts, appoint as many Income-tax Officers of Class II service and Inspectors of Income-tax as may, from time to time, be sanctioned by the Central Government.

(3A) Subject to the rules and orders of the Central Government regulating the conditions of service of persons in public services and posts, an Income-tax authority may appoint such executive or ministerial staff as may be necessary to assist it in the execution of its functions.]

(4) Appellate Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax shall be under the direct control of the Central Board of Revenue and shall perform their functions in respect of such persons or classes of persons [or of such incomes or classes of income or] in respect of such areas as the Central Board of Revenue may direct, [and, where such directions have assigned to two or more Appellate Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax, the same persons or classes of persons or the same incomes or classes of income or the same area] in accordance with any orders which the Central Board of Revenue may make for the distribution and allocation of the work to be performed.

(5) Inspecting Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax and Income-tax Officers shall perform their functions in respect of such persons or classes of persons [or of such incomes or classes of income or] in respect of such areas as the Commissioner of Income-tax may direct, [and, where such directions have assigned to two or more Inspecting Assistant Commissioners of Income-tax or Income-tax Officers, the same persons or classes of persons or the same incomes or classes of income or the same area] in accordance with any orders which the Commissioner of Income-tax may make for the distribution and allocation of the work to be performed. The Commissioner may, * * by general or special order in writing, direct that the powers conferred on the Income-tax Officer and the Appellate Assistant Commissioner by or under this Act shall, in respect of any specified case or class of cases, be exercised by the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner and the Commissioner, respectively, and, for the purposes of any case in respect of which such order applies, references in this Act or in any rules made hereunder to the Income-tax Officer and the Appellate Assistant Commissioner shall be deemed to be references to the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner and the Commissioner, respectively.

[(5A) Inspectors of Income-tax shall perform such functions in the execution of this Act as are assigned to them by the Income-tax Officer or other Income-tax authority under whom they are appointed to work, and shall be subordinate to such Officer or authority.]

(6) The Central Board of Revenue may, by notification in the Official Gazette, empower Commissioners of Income-tax, Appellate or Inspecting Assistant Commis sioners of Income-tax and Income-tax Officers to perform such functions in respect of such classes of persons or such classes of income [or such area] as may be specified in the notification, and thereupon the functions so specified shall cease * * to be performed in respect of the specified classes of persons or classes of income [or area] by the other authorities appointed under sub-sections (2) and (3).

[(7) For the purposes of this Act,—

(i) Inspecting Assistant Commissioners shall be subordinate to the Director of Inspection and to the Commissioner of Income-tax within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions;

(ii) Income-tax Officers shall be subordinate to the Director of Inspection, the Commissioner of Income-tax and the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions.]

[(7A) The Commissioner of Income-tax may transfer any case from one Income-tax Officer subordinate to him to another, and the Central Board of Revenue may transfer any case from any one Income-tax Officer to another. Such transfer may be made at any stage of the proceedings, and shall not render necessary the reissue of any notice already issued by the Income-tax Officer from whom the case is transferred.]

* * * * *

[(7B) The Director of Inspection, the Commissioner or the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner, as the case may be, may issue such instructions as he thinks fit for the guidance of any Income-tax Officer subordinate to him in the matter of any assessment, and for the purposes of making any inquiry under this Act (which he is hereby empowered to do), the Director of Inspection, the Commissioner and the Inspecting Assistant Commissioner shall have all the powers that an Income-tax Officer has under this Act in relation to the making of inquiries.

(7C) Whenever in respect of any proceeding under this Act an Income-tax authority ceases to exercise jurisdiction and is succeeded by another who has and exercises jurisdiction, the Income-tax authority so succeeding may continue the proceeding from the stage at which the proceeding was left by his predecessor:

Provided that the assessee concerned may demand that before the proceeding is so continued the previous proceeding or any part thereof be reopened or that before any order for assessment is passed against him he be reheard:

Provided further that in computing the period of limitation for the purposes of sub-section (3) of section 34, the time taken in reopening the whole or any part of the proceeding or in giving an opportunity to the assessee to be reheard under the preceding proviso shall be excluded.]

(8) AH officers and persons employed in the execution of this Act shall observe and follow the orders, instructions and directions of the Central Board of Revenue:

Provided that no such orders, instructions or directions shall be given so as to interfere with the discretion of the Appellate Assistant Commissioner in the exercise of his appellate functions.

[Explanation.—In sub-sections (2), (5) and (7A), the word "case" in relation to any person whose name is specified in any order or direction issued in pursuance of any of the aforesaid sub-sections means all proceedings under this Act in respect of any year which may be pending on the date of such order or direction or which may have been completed on or before such date, and includes also all proceedings under this Act which may be commenced after the date of such order or direction in respect of any year.]]

[As amended up to date]