SPECIAL PROVISION FOR AVOIDING
REPETITIVE APPEALS
158A. Procedure when assessee claims identical question
of law is pending before High Court or Supreme Court2[J2] :-
(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, where an assessee claims that any question of law arising in his case for an assessment year which is pending before the 3[J3] [Assessing] Officer or any appellate authority (such case being hereafter in this section referred to as the relevant case) is identical with a question of law arising in his case for another assessment year which is pending before the High Court on a reference under section 256 or 4[J4] [before the Supreme Court on a reference under section 257 or in appeal under section 260A before the High Court or in appeal under section 261 before the Supreme Court] (such case being hereafter in this section referred to as the other case), he may furnish to the 5[J5] [Assessing] Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, a declaration in the prescribed form and verified in the prescribed manner, that if the 6[J6] [Assessing] Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, agrees to apply in the relevant case the final decision on the question of law in the other case, he shall not raise such question of law in the relevant case in appeal before any appellate authority or 7[J7] [in appeal before the High Court under section 260A or in appeal before the Supreme Court under section 261].
(2) Where a declaration
under sub-section (1) is furnished to any appellate authority, the appellate
authority shall call for a report from the 8[J8] [Assessing] Officer on the correctness of the claim made by
the assessee and, where the 9[J9] [Assessing] Officer makes a request to the appellate
authority to give him an opportunity of being heard in the matter, the
appellate authority shall allow him such opportunity.
(3) The 10[J10] [Assessing]
Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, may, by order in writing,—
(i) Admit the claim of the assessee if he or it is satisfied that the question of law arising in the relevant case is identical with the question of law in the other case; or
(ii) Reject
the claim if he or it is not so satisfied.
(4) Where a claim is admitted under sub-section (3),—
(a) The 11[J11] [Assessing]
Officer or, as the case may be, the appellate authority may make an order
disposing of the relevant case without awaiting the final decision on the
question of law in the other case; and
(b) The
assessee shall not be entitled to raise, in relation to the relevant case, such
question of law in appeal before any appellate authority or 12[J12] [in appeal before
the High Court under section 260A or the Supreme Court under section 261].
(5) When the decision on the
question of law in the other case becomes final, it shall be applied to the
relevant case and the 13[J13] [Assessing]
Officers or the appellate authority, as the case may be, shall, if necessary,
amend the order referred to in clause (a) of sub-section (4) conformably
to such decision.
(6) An order under
sub-section (3) shall be final and shall not be called in question in any
proceeding by way of appeal, reference or revision under this Act.
Explanation.—In this section,—
(a) "Appellate
authority" means the 14[J14] [Deputy
Commissioner (Appeals)], the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal;
(b) "Case",
in relation to an assessee, means any proceeding under this Act for the
assessment of the total income of the assessee or for the imposition of any
penalty or fine on him.]
[J1]Inserted by the Taxation Laws (Amendment) Act, 1984, w.e.f. 1-10-1984.
[J2]See rule 16 and Form No. 8.
[J3]Substituted for "Income-tax" by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988.
[J4]Substituted for "before the Supreme Court on a reference under section 257 or in appeal under section 261" by the Finance Act, 2002, w.e.f. 1-6-2002.
[J5]Substituted for "Income-tax" by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988.
[J6]Ibid.
[J7]Substituted for "for a reference before the High Court under section 256 or the Supreme Court under section 257 or in appeal before the Supreme Court under section 261" by the Finance Act, 2002, w.e.f. 1-6-2002.
[J8]Substituted for "Income-tax" by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988.
[J9]Ibid.
[J10]Ibid.
[J11]Substituted for "Income-tax" by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988.
[J12]Substituted for "for a reference before the High Court under section 256 or the Supreme Court under section 257 or in appeal before the Supreme Court under section 261" by the Finance Act, 2002, w.e.f. 1-6-2002.
[J13]Substituted for "Income-tax" by the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987, w.e.f. 1-4-1988.
[J14]Substituted for "Appellate Assistant Commissioner", ibid.