INCOME TAX

Transfer of cases from one income-tax authority to another under the Income-tax Act, 1961, during the financial year 1998-99—Instructions regarding.

Circular No. 770

Dated 16/9/1998

To

All Chief Commissioners of Income-tax,

All Directors-General of Income-tax.

Sir,

Subject : Transfer of cases from one income-tax authority to another under the Income-tax Act, 1961, during the financial year 1998-99—Instructions regarding.

The Income-tax Act, 1961, vests the power of transfer of cases from one Assessing Officer to another with certain income-tax authorities such as the Director-General, Chief Commissioners of Income-tax and the Board. The relevant provisions are contained in section 127 of the Income-tax Act, 1961.

2. Transfer of cases from one Assessing Officer to another is made generally due to variation in the returned income as the jurisdiction among different levels of Assessing Officers is administratively fixed by allocating them different slabs of returned income. For the financial year 1998-99, the Board has issued administrative instructions, vide Instruction No. 1950, dated 14-7-98, directing that there should be no routine transfer of cases during the period 1st July, 1998, to 31st March, 1999. This was done in order to facilitate the process of computerization as such large-scale changes would have affected the same.

3. The aforesaid instructions are purely administrative in nature and are applicable only for the period 1st July, 1998, to 31st March, 1999. These administrative guidelines do not in any way curtail the statutory powers vested in the income-tax authorities by law. While no case would be transferred in a routine manner, the exceptional cases of sensitive nature or those requiring the centralization and decentralization on priority basis or where court's directions are to be complied with, the orders for change of jurisdiction may be passed only after obtaining the prior approval of the Board.

Yours faithfully,

(Sd.) Malathi R. Sridharan,

Under Secretary to the Government of India.

[F. No. 225/105/98-ITA-II]