Income Tax Act | Delhi High Court Seeks Affidavit On Pending Advance Ruling Cases, Appointment Of Board Members
The Delhi High Court has directed the Union Government to file an affidavit disclosing the pendency of cases before the Boards for Advance Rulings and their benches, while also seeking details regarding the status of Chief Commissioners nominated by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) as members of the Boards.
The Division Bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta passed the direction while hearing a batch of petitions, including those filed by Mitsubishi Electric and the Regents of the University of Michigan.
The proceedings concern the functioning of the advance ruling mechanism under Section 245N of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
During the hearing, the Union Government submitted that the amendment to Section 245N was introduced with the objective of providing taxpayers with advance rulings in a timely manner. It was also submitted that the Union Government was facing difficulty in finding suitable candidates for the posts of Chairman and Vice-Chairman.
Senior Advocate Sachit Jolly, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that despite the amendment, the situation had remained unchanged and there continued to be a large pendency of cases before the Boards for Advance Rulings.
He argued that the purpose for which the Board under Section 245N was constituted had “practically been defeated” due to the continuing pendency.
Taking note of the submissions, the Bench directed the respondents to file an affidavit indicating the pendency of cases before the Board(s) and their benches.
The affidavit has also been directed to disclose whether the Chief Commissioners nominated by the CBDT as members of the Board can be sent back to the field or whether they are permanently appointed to the Board until their superannuation.
The matters have been listed for September 24, 2026.
For Petitioner: Senior Advocate Sachit Jolly, with Advocates Sherry Goyal, Viyushti Rawat, Shubham Gupta, Piyush Kaushik & Tanveer Zaki.
For Respondents: Siddhartha Sinha, SSC with Advocates Lakshya, Jivesh Kr. Tiwari, CGSC with Nandini Aggarwal and Akshay Chopra, for UOI.