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Income-tax Act, 1961 · Chapter XIII: Income-Tax Authorities · B.—Jurisdiction

Section 120: Jurisdiction of income-tax authorities

The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026. The text is kept here because the judgments below apply it.

In plain words

This section explains how the Board directs income-tax authorities to use their powers. It allows higher-ranking officers to perform lower-ranking duties if directed. The Board can assign specific functions to senior officers like Principal Directors or Commissioners. It also permits multiple Assessing Officers to work on the same cases concurrently, with lower ranks following higher rank directions.

  • The Board issues directions for income-tax authorities to exercise powers and perform functions under the Act.
  • Higher-ranking authorities may perform lower-ranking duties if specifically directed by the Board.
  • The Board can authorize other authorities to issue written orders to subordinate officers.
  • Directions may be based on territorial area, persons, classes of persons, incomes, or cases.
  • The Board can assign functions to Principal Director General, Director General, Principal Director, or Director.
  • The Board empowers specific senior ranks to order that Assessing Officer duties be performed by Additional or Joint Commissioners or Directors.
  • Multiple Assessing Officers may work concurrently, with lower ranks following higher rank directions.

Example: If an order is made under clause (b) of sub-section (4), references to the Assessing Officer apply to the Additional or Joint Commissioner or Director exercising the powers. Provisions requiring approval of that specific authority do not apply.

A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.

Official text

(1) 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 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. [Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that any income-tax authority, being an authority higher in rank, may, if so directed by the Board, exercise the powers and perform the functions of the income-tax authority lower in rank and any such direction issued by the Board shall be deemed to be a direction issued under sub-section (1).]

(2) The directions of the Board under sub-section (1) may authorise any other income-tax authority to issue orders in writing for the exercise of the powers and performance of the functions by all or any of the other income-tax authorities who are subordinate to it.

(3) In issuing the directions or orders referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2), the Board or other income-tax authority authorised by it may have regard to any one or more of the following criteria, namely :—

(a) territorial area;

(b) persons or classes of persons;

(c) incomes or classes of income; and

(d) cases or classes of cases.

(4) Without prejudice to the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2), the Board may, by general or special order, and subject to such conditions, restrictions or limitations as may be specified therein,—

(a) authorise any [Principal Director General or Director General] or [Principal Director or Director] to perform such functions of any other income-tax authority as may be assigned to him by the Board;

(b) empower the [Principal Director General or Director General] or [Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner] or [Principal Commissioner or Commissioner] to issue orders in writing that the powers and functions conferred on, or as the case may be, assigned to, the Assessing Officer by or under this Act in respect of any specified area or persons or classes of persons or incomes or classes of income or cases or classes of cases, shall be exercised or performed by [an Additional Commissioner or] [an Additional Director or] a [Joint Commissioner] or a [Joint Director]] and, where any order is made under this clause, references in any other provision of this Act, or in any rule made thereunder to the Assessing Officer shall be deemed to be references to such [an Additional Commissioner or] [Additional Director or] a [Joint Commissioner] or [Joint Director] by whom the powers and functions are to be exercised or performed under such order, and any provision of this Act requiring approval or sanction of the [Joint Commissioner] shall not apply.

(5) The directions and orders referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2) may, wherever considered necessary or appropriate for the proper management of the work, require two or more Assessing Officers (whether or not of the same class) to exercise and perform, concurrently, the powers and functions in respect of any area or persons or classes of persons or incomes or classes of income or cases or classes of cases; and, where such powers and functions are exercised and performed concurrently by the Assessing Officers of different classes, any authority lower in rank amongst them shall exercise the powers and perform the functions as any higher authority amongst them may direct, and, further, references in any other provision of this Act or in any rule made thereunder to the Assessing Officer shall be deemed to be references to such higher authority and any provision of this Act requiring approval or sanction of any such authority shall not apply.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in any direction or order issued under this section, or in section 124, the Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that for the purpose of furnishing of the return of income or the doing of any other act or thing under this Act or any rule made thereunder by any person or class of persons, the income-tax authority exercising and performing the powers and functions in relation to the said person or class of persons shall be such authority as may be specified in the notification.]

Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.

Supreme Court judgments citing the section 120