What are the Income Tax Authorities? Explain the powers
and duties of the Income Tax Officer.
Chapter-XIII (Sections 116 to 138) explains
about the constitution of the various authorities/ officers under the Income
Tax Act.
·
The Government needs funds for various
social, welfare, administration and defence purposes. For which, it requires
huge funds from various sources. Out of which, taxation is the main source.
·
Justice Homes said: "Tax is the price
which we pay for a Civilized Society."
·
Income tax is a direct tax. To collect income
tax properly, and to prevent avoidance and evasion of the taxes, this Act has
provided various authorities, and entrusted various duties and powers to them.
·
The Income Tax
Department is headed by the apex body the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT)
is a Government Agency undertaking the Direct Tax collection of the Government
of India. It functions under the Department of Revenue of the Ministry of
Finance.
·
Main responsibility of IT Department is to
enforce various direct tax laws, most important among these being the
Income-tax Act, 1961, to collect revenue for the Government of India. It also
enforces other economic laws like the Benami Transactions (Prohibition) Act,
1988 and the Black Money Act, 2015.
·
INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES:
Section 116 enunciates various Income-tax authorities.
(a) The Central Board of Director Taxes (CBDT)
constituted under the Central Boards of Revenue Act, 1963 (54 of 1963);
(b) Directors-General of Income-tax or Chief Commissioners
of Income-tax,
(c) Directors of Income-tax or Commissioners of
Income-tax or Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals),
Additional Directors of Income-tax or
Additional Commissioners of Income-tax or Additional Commisssioner of
Income-tax (Appeals),
Joint Directors of Income-tax or Joint Commissioners of
Income-tax,
(d) Deputy Directors of Income-tax or Deputy Commissioners
of Income-tax or Deputy Commissioners of Income-tax (Appeals),
(e) Assistant Directors of Income-tax or Assistant
Commissioners of Income-tax,
(f) Income-tax Officers,
(g) Tax Recovery Officers,
(h) Inspectors of Income-tax.
APPOINTMENT OF INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES
Ø The Central Government may appoint such persons as it
thinks fit to be income-tax authorities.
Ø It regulates the conditions of service of persons in
public service and posts.
Ø It also authorises the Board, or a Director-General, or a
Chief Commissioner, or a Director or a Commissioner to appoint income-tax authorities below the rank of an Assistant
Commissioner. (Sec. 117)
CONTROL OF INCOME-TAX AUTHORITIES
Ø The Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette,
direct that any income-tax authority or authorities specified in the
notification shall be subordinate to such other income-tax authority or
authorities as may be specified in such notification. (Sec. 118)
Ø The Board may from time to time issue such Orders,
Instructions and Directions to other income-tax authorities as it may deem fit
for the proper administration of this Act, and such authorities and all other
persons employed in the execution of this Act shall observe and follow such
Orders, Instruction and Directions of
the Board. (Sec. 119)
Jurisdiction of Income-tax authorities:
Ø The Income-tax authorities shall exercise all or any of
the powers and perform all or any of the functions conferred on, or, as the
case may be assigned to such authorities by or under this Act.
Ø In accordance with
such directions as the Board may issue for the exercise of the powers and
performance of the functions by all or any of those authorities.
Ø The jurisdiction of income-tax authorities depends upon
any one or more of the following criteria,
(a) Territorial area;
(b) Persons or classes of persons
(c)
incomes or classes of income; and
(d) cases or classes of cases.
Jurisdiction of Assessing Officers: (Sec124)
lays down the
provisions about the jurisdiction and powers of Assessing Officers.
Power to transfer cases: (Sec. 127)
Ø The Director General or Chief Commissioner or
Commissioner may, after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being
heard in the matter, wherever it is possible to do so, and after recording his
reasons for doing so.
Ø Transfer any case
from one or more Assessing Officers subordinate to him (whether with or without
concurrent jurisdiction) to any other Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers
(whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) also subordinate to him. The
Transfer of a case may be made at any stage of the proceedings.
Power regarding
discovery production of evidence
Ø The Assessing Officer, Deputy Commissioner (Appeals),
Deputy Commissioner, Commissioner (Appeals) and Chief Commissioner or
Commissioner shall, for the purposes of this Act, have the same powers as are vested in a court under the
Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, when trying a suit in respect of the
following matters.
(a) Discovery and inspection;
(b) Enforcing the attendance of any person, including any
officer of a banking company and examining him on oath; oath.
(c) Compelling the production of books of account and
other documents, and
(d) Issuing commissions.
SEARCH AND SEIZURE [S. 132]
The Income Tax Officers are empowered to,—
Ø Enter and search any building, place, vessel, vehicle or
aircraft where he has reason to suspect that such books of account, other
documents, money, bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing are
kept.
Ø Break open the lock of any door, box, locker, safe,
almirah or other receptacle for exercising the powers conferred by clause (if the keys are not available).
Ø search any person who has got out of, or is about to get
into, or is in the building, place, vessel, vehicle or aircraft, if the
authorised officer has reason to suspect that such person has secreted about
his person any such books of accounts, other documents, money, bullion,
jewellery or other valuable article or thing.
Ø Seize any such books of account, other documents, money,
bullion, jewellery or other valuable article or thing found as a result of such
search.
Ø Place marks of identification on any books of account or
other documents or make or cause to be made extracts or copies therefrom.
Ø Make a note or an inventory of any such money, bullion,
jewellery or other valuable article or thing.
Powers to requisition Books of Accounts: Sec 132-A
Empowers the Director General or Director or
the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner to issue orders to requisition books of
accounts, etc., to their subordinate officers.
Application of seized or requisitioned assets: Sec 132-B
Deals with the application of requisitioned
assets.
Power to call for information: Sec 133
Empowers the Assessing Officer, the Deputy
Commissioner (Appeals) the Deputy Commissioner or the Commissioner (Appeals)
has the power to call for information from any person, or firm or agent, or any
assessee.
Power of Survey: Sec 133-A
Empowers
the Officers to do survey.
Power to collect certain information: Sec 134
Empowers
the Assessing Officer, the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals), the Deputy
Commissioner or the Commissioner (Appeals), or any person subordinate to him
authorised in writing to inspect registers of companies, and to take copies, or
cause copies to be taken of any register of the members, debenture holders or
mortgages etc.
Power of Director General or Director, Chief Commissioner
or Commissioner and Joint Commissioner: Sec135
Provides that the Director General or
Director, the Chief Commissioner or Commissioner and the Joint Commissioner
shall be competent to make any enquiry under this Act, and for this purpose
shall have all the powers that an Assessing Officer has under this Act in
relation to the making of enquiries.
Proceedings before Income-tax Authorities to
be Judicial Proceedings: Sec 136
Lays down that any proceeding under
this Act before an Income-tax authority shall be deemed to be a judicial
proceeding within the meaning of Sections 193 and 228 and for the purposes of
Section 196 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, and every income-tax authority
shall be deemed to be a Civil Court for the purposes of Section 195, but not
for the purposes of Chapter XXVI of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973.
