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Section261
The Income-tax Act, 1961

Appeal to Supreme Court

Repealed From 01 Apr 1962 Act 43 of 1961 As on 17 Oct 2026

Act 43 of 1961 Ministry Finance Enacted 13 Sep 1961 In force 01 Apr 1962 Cited by 9 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This provision is repealed. Repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026.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 261 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 deals with appeal to Supreme Court. An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from any judgment of the High Court delivered on a reference made under section 256 against an order made under section 254 before the 1st day of October, 1998 or an appeal made to High Court in respect of an order passed under section 254 on or after that da 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 Repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 with effect from 1 April 2026, but conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under it.

An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from any judgment of the High Court delivered on a reference made under section 256 against an order made under section 254 before the 1st day of October, 1998 or an appeal made to High Court in respect of an order passed under section 254 on or after that date in any case which the High Court certifies to be a fit one for appeal to the Supreme Court.

Hearing before Supreme Court.

Section 261, The Income-tax Act, 1961 (Act 43 of 1961).

Now in the Income-tax Act

INCOME-TAX-ACT-2025 367 Appeal to Supreme Court 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 The repealed enactment still governs what happened while it was in force.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. 254 Orders of Appellate Tribunal
  2. s. 256 Statement of case to the High Court

Referred to by 9

  1. Finance Act s. 59 Amendment of section 261
  2. Finance Act s. 178 Application of certain provisions of Income-tax Act
  3. s. 158A Procedure when assessee claims identical question of law is pending before High Court or Supreme Court
  4. s. 158AA Procedure when in an appeal by revenue an identical question of law is pending before Supreme Court
  5. s. 158AB Procedure where an identical question of law is pending before High Courts or Supreme Court
  6. s. 262 Hearing before Supreme Court
  7. s. 275 Bar of limitation for imposing penalties
  8. Income-tax Act s. 375 Procedure when assessee claims identical question of law is pending before High Court or Supreme Court
  9. Income-tax Act s. 376 Procedure where an identical question of law is pending before High Courts or Supreme Court

Questions about Section 261

What does Section 261 of the Income-tax Act deal with?

Section 261 of the Income-tax Act is headed "Appeal to Supreme Court". An appeal shall lie to the Supreme Court from any judgment of the High Court delivered on a reference made under section 256 against an order made under section 254 before the 1st day of October, 1998 or an appeal made to High Court in respect of an order passed under section 254 on or after that da

How do I find court cases under Section 261 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 261, section 261 Income Tax Act, section 261 of the Income-tax Act. Each opens the full list of orders on eCourtsIndia, where it can be narrowed by court, year and outcome.

What should I read with Section 261 of the Income-tax Act, and has it changed?

Its own text turns on section 254 (Orders of Appellate Tribunal), section 256 (Statement of case to the High Court), so none of them can safely be read on its own. 9 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 367 (Appeal to Supreme Court), which replaced it; conduct before that date is still charged, tried and appealed under this section.

When did Section 261 of the Income-tax Act come into force?

Section 261 of the Income-tax Act, cited as Income Tax Act 261, 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.