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Section246
The Income-tax Act, 1961

Appealable orders before Joint Commissioner (Appeals)

Repealed From 01 Apr 1962 Act 43 of 1961 As on 15 Oct 2026

Act 43 of 1961 Ministry Finance Enacted 13 Sep 1961 In force 01 Apr 1962 Cited by 15 provisions

This provision is repealed. Repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026. It is reproduced because conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

Section 246 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deals with appealable orders before Joint Commissioner (Appeals). Any assessee aggrieved by any of the following orders of an Assessing Officer (below the rank of Joint Commissioner) may appeal to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) against— (a) an order being an intimation under sub-section (1) of section 143, where the assessee objects to the making of adjustments, The Act came into force on 01 Apr 1962. Repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

(1) Any assessee aggrieved by any of the following orders of an Assessing Officer (below the rank of Joint Commissioner) may appeal to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) against—

(a) an order being an intimation under sub-section (1) of section 143, where the assessee objects to the making of adjustments, or any order of assessment under sub-section (3) of section 143 or section 144, where the assessee objects to the amount of income assessed, or to the amount of tax determined, or to the amount of loss computed, or to the status under which he is assessed;

(b) an order of assessment, reassessment or recomputation under section 147;

(c) an order being an intimation under sub-section (1) of section 200A;

(d) an order under section 201;

(e) an order being an intimation under sub-section (6A) of section 206C;

(f) an order under sub-section (1) of section 206CB;

(g) an order imposing a penalty under Chapter XXI; and (h) an order under section 154 or section 155 amending any of the orders mentioned in clauses (a) to (g):

Provided that no appeal shall be filed before the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) if an order referred to in this sub-section is passed by or with the prior approval of, an income-tax authority above the rank of Deputy Commissioner.

(2) Where any appeal filed against an order referred to in sub-section (1) is pending before the Commissioner (Appeals), the Board or an income-tax authority so authorised by the Board in this regard, may transfer such appeal and any matter arising out of or connected with such appeal and which is so pending, to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) who may proceed with such appeal or matter, from the stage at which it was before it was so transferred.

(3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1) and sub-section (2), the Board or an income-tax authority so authorised by the Board in this regard, may transfer any appeal which is pending before a Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and any matter arising out of or connected with such appeal and which is so pending, to the Commissioner (Appeals) who may proceed with such appeal or matter, from the stage at which it was before it was so transferred.

(4) Where an appeal is transferred under the provisions of sub-section (2) or sub-section (3), the appellant shall be given an opportunity of being reheard.

(5) For the purposes of disposal of appeal by the Joint Commissioner (Appeals), the Central Government may make a scheme, by notification in the Official Gazette, so as to dispose of appeals in an expedient manner with transparency and accountability, by eliminating the interface between the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and the appellant, in the course of appellate proceedings to the extent technologically feasible and direct that any of the provisions of this Act relating to jurisdiction and procedure for disposal of appeals by the Joint Commissioner (Appeals), shall not apply or shall apply with such exceptions, modifications and adaptations as may be specified in the notification.

(6) For the purposes of sub-section (1), the Board may specify that the provisions of that sub-section shall not apply to any case or any class of cases.

Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, "status" means the category under which the assessee is assessed as "individual", "Hindu undivided family" and so on.

Appealable orders before Commissioner (Appeals).

Section 246, The Income-tax Act, 1961 (Act 43 of 1961).

Now in the Income-tax Act

INCOME-TAX-ACT-2025 356 Appealable orders before Joint Commissioner (Appeals) Official correspondence

Measured by comparing the text of the two provisions, not taken from an official correspondence table — there is no machine-readable one. See both texts side by side before relying on it.

Both regimes are live. The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force. We never redirect one to the other.

Cross-references

Extracted from the operative text of the enactments themselves. Every destination below exists in our corpus.

This section refers to

  1. s. 143 Assessment
  2. s. 144 Best judgment assessment
  3. s. 147 Income escaping assessment
  4. s. 154 Rectification of mistake
  5. s. 155 Other amendments
  6. s. 200A and other statements
  7. s. 201 Consequences of failure to deduct or pay
  8. s. 206C Profits and gains from the business of trading in alcoholic liquor, forest produce, scrap, etc
  9. s. 206CB Processing of statements of tax collected at source

Referred to by 15

  1. Finance Act s. 38 Amendment of section 246
  2. Finance Act s. 21 Amendment of section 246
  3. Finance Act s. 43 Amendment of section 246
  4. Finance Act s. 41 Amendment of section 246
  5. Finance Act s. 83 Amendment of section 246
  6. Finance Act s. 46 Amendment of section 246
  7. Finance Act s. 49 Insertion of new section 246A
  8. Finance Act s. 65 Amendment of section 246
  9. s. 152 Other provisions
  10. s. 220 When tax payable and when assessee deemed in default
  11. s. 246A Appealable orders before Commissioner (Appeals)
  12. s. 250 Procedure in appeal

and 3 more

Related judgements & precedents

These are some judgments that construed this section, and hold precedence value. They hold authority on how to read, interpret and use this section.

  1. Babita Lila vs Union of India

    Supreme Court of India 31 Aug 2016 Binding (Supreme Court Division Bench) Reportable

    Court's Decision & Legal Precedent

    Section 195(4) of the Criminal Procedure Code requires that a complaint for false statements allegedly made in judicial proceedings must be filed by the court concerned or by a court/authority to which that court is 'subordinate' - meaning the authority to which appeals from the proceedings ordinarily and actually lie in the regular course of events. The word 'ordinarily' refers to appellate jurisdiction habitually and regularly exercised, not merely rank hierarchy. When the substantive law (here the Income Tax Act, 1961) clearly designates specific appellate forums and omits to confer appellate jurisdiction on a particular authority, courts cannot supply this legislative gap through judicial interpretation even if that authority is senior in rank, as such omission represents deliberate legislative intent. Therefore, the Deputy Director of Income Tax (Investigation)-I, Bhopal was incompetent to lodge a criminal complaint for false statements made during income tax search proceedings conducted by Income Tax Officers of Nashik and Dhule, as the Deputy Director was not the appellate authority from their decisions; only the Deputy Commissioner (Appeals) holds such appellate jurisdiction under the Income Tax Act.

    On this section: Specifies orders of assessing officers from which appeals lie to Deputy Commissioner (Appeals); notably does not include orders under Section 132 (search/seizure)

    Read the full order on eCourts India

The holding above is the ratio decidendi as extracted from the judgment by eCourts India, reproduced unaltered — it is a rendering of the court's reasoning, not a substitute for its words. Read the order itself before relying on it.

Questions about Section 246

What have the courts held on Section 246 of the Income-tax Act?

Babita Lila vs Union of India (31 Aug 2016) is the leading judgment on this section among those set out below: Specifies orders of assessing officers from which appeals lie to Deputy Commissioner (Appeals); notably does not include orders under Section 132 (search/seizure).

How do I find court cases under Section 246 of the Income-tax Act?

In judgments and charge sheets this section is written several ways, and each form finds a different set of orders. These search the full text of every order eCourtsIndia holds, best matches first: Income Tax Act 246, section 246 Income Tax Act, section 246 of the Income-tax Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome. 1 reported judgment on this section is set out on this page, beginning with Babita Lila vs Union of India (31 Aug 2016).

What should I read with Section 246 of the Income-tax Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 143 (Assessment), section 144 (Best judgment assessment), section 147 (Income escaping assessment), section 154 (Rectification of mistake), and on 5 further provisions, so none of them can safely be read on its own. 15 other provisions in this corpus refer back to it. For anything done on or after 1 April 2026 the provision to read is Income-tax Act, 2025, section 356 (Appealable orders before Joint Commissioner (Appeals)), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 246 of the Income-tax Act come into force?

Section 246 of the Income-tax Act, cited as Income Tax Act 246, came into force on 01 Apr 1962, having been enacted on 13 Sep 1961. It is no longer in force.

Other sections of this Act

Source and method. Compiled from the enactments of Parliament and of the State legislatures as published on India Code, and republished together with commentary and other original matter under section 52(1)(q)(ii) of the Copyright Act, 1957. Structured, cross-referenced and maintained by eCourtsIndia. Recovered from the consolidated text published by the Income Tax Department, as amended by the Finance Act, 2026. India Code holds no record of this Act in any form. This page is not a substitute for legal advice.