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Income-tax Act, 1961 · Chapter XX: Appeals and Revision · C.—Reference to High Court

Section 256: Statement of case to the High Court

The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026.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 covers the old reference procedure. For orders of the Appellate Tribunal passed before 1st October 1998, the assessee or the Commissioner could ask the Tribunal to refer a question of law to the High Court.

  • The application had to be made within sixty days of being served with the Tribunal's order, with a fee if the assessee applied.
  • The Tribunal had to draw up a statement of the case and refer it within one hundred and twenty days.
  • The Tribunal could allow a further thirty days for sufficient cause.
  • If the Tribunal refused because it found no question of law, the party could apply to the High Court within six months, and the High Court could direct the Tribunal to refer the case.
  • The High Court answered only questions of law. It did not reassess the facts found by the Tribunal.
  • For later orders, the route is a direct appeal to the High Court.

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) The assessee or the [Principal Commissioner or Commissioner] may, within sixty days of the date upon which he is served with notice of [an order passed before the 1st day of October, 1998, under section 254], by application in the prescribed form, accompanied where the application is made by the assessee by a fee of [two hundred rupees], require the Appellate Tribunal to refer to the High Court any question of law arising out of such order and, subject to the other provisions contained in this section, the Appellate Tribunal shall, within one hundred and twenty days of the receipt of such application, draw up a statement of the case and refer it to the High Court :

Provided that the Appellate Tribunal may, if it is satisfied that the applicant was prevented by sufficient cause from presenting the application within the period hereinbefore specified, allow it to be presented within a further period not exceeding thirty days.

(2) If, on an application made under sub-section (1), the Appellate Tribunal refuses to state the case on the ground that no question of law arises, the assessee or the [Principal Commissioner or Commissioner], as the case may be, may, within six months from the date on which he is served with notice of such refusal, apply to the High Court, and the High Court may, if it is not satisfied with the correctness of the decision of the Appellate Tribunal, require the Appellate Tribunal to state the case and to refer it, and on receipt of any such requisition, the Appellate Tribunal shall state the case and refer it accordingly. [(2A) The High Court may admit an application after the expiry of the period of six months referred to in sub-section (2), if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause for not filing the same within that period.]

(3) Where in the exercise of its powers under sub-section (2), the Appellate Tribunal refuses to state a case which it has been required by the assessee to state, the assessee may, within thirty days from the date on which he receives notice of such refusal, withdraw his application, and, if he does so, the fee paid shall be refunded.]

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 256