India · Income Tax Litigation
Scrutiny and faceless assessments, reopening under sections 147 and 148, search and block assessments, penalties, first appeals, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and High Court appeals through counsel.
An income tax dispute in India starts with a notice and, if it is not settled, usually ends at the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. The first appeal lies to the Commissioner (Appeals) within 30 days of the demand notice. The Tribunal appeal is due within two months from the end of the month in which the appellate order is received. A High Court appeal lies within 120 days, on a substantial question of law only. Stay of demand is normally granted on payment of 20% of the disputed tax.
Replies to notices under sections 142(1) and 143(2), with evidence placed on record in a form an appellate authority can rely on.
Objections at the section 148A stage on the information, time limit and sanction, and defence of the reassessment itself.
Support after a search or survey, review of statements and seized material, and the block assessment that follows searches from 1 September 2024.
Defence of penalty notices for under-reporting and misreporting, and applications for immunity where they are worth making.
Appeals to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals), Commissioner (Appeals) and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, with paper books and written submissions.
Stay applications, instalments and the lifting of bank attachments while the appeal is pending.
We fix every date: the time limit for the notice itself, the reply date and the appeal date.
Reconciliations, confirmations and affidavits go in at the earliest forum that will take them.
Written submissions and hearings before the officer, the appellate authority and the Tribunal.
Stay of demand and attachment relief run alongside the appeal.
Appeal effect orders, refunds with interest and a decision on any further appeal.
The Tribunal is the last forum that decides facts, so we build the facts for it from the first reply.
What each income tax and GST notice means and how to reply.
Explore →◆Show cause notices, DGGI, adjudication, GSTAT appeals and writs.
Explore →◆Income tax and GST disputes from the first notice to the Tribunal.
Explore →◆Treaty, withholding and permanent establishment disputes.
Explore →Every assessment step has an outer time limit. A notice or order passed after it is invalid whatever its merits, so limitation is the first thing we check. Notices for tax years up to 2025-26 follow the 1961 Act; the 2025 Act sections in the third column apply from tax year 2026-27, where section 282 sets longer reopening limits of four and six years.
| Step | 1961 Act | 2025 Act | Time limit |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scrutiny notice | 143(2) | 270(8) | Within three months from the end of the financial year in which the return was filed |
| Scrutiny assessment order | 143(3), faceless under 144B | 270(10), faceless under 273 | Generally 12 months from the end of the assessment year (old Act) |
| Show cause before reopening | 148A | 281 | Old Act, notices from 1 September 2024: 3 years from the end of the assessment year, or 5 years where escaped income is Rs 50 lakh or more |
| Reassessment notice | 148 | 280 | 3 years and 3 months, or 5 years and 3 months where escaped income is Rs 50 lakh or more |
| Reassessment order | 147, limitation 153 | 279, limitation 286 | Old Act: 12 months from the end of the financial year in which the section 148 notice was served |
| Forum | 1961 Act | 2025 Act | Time to appeal | What it decides |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Commissioner (Appeals) or Joint Commissioner (Appeals) | 246 and 246A, limitation 249 | 356 to 358 | 30 days from service of the demand notice | Facts and law; additional evidence only with permission |
| Dispute Resolution Panel (eligible foreign companies and transfer pricing cases) | 144C | Not listed here | 30 days from the draft order | Objections to the draft order; no demand until the final order |
| Income Tax Appellate Tribunal | 253 | 362 | Two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated | The last forum that decides facts |
| High Court | 260A | 365 | 120 days from receipt of the Tribunal’s order | Substantial questions of law only |
| Supreme Court | 261 | 367 | On a certificate or by special leave | Questions of law of general importance |
A reopening starts with a show cause notice, and the reply can end the matter there: see how to reply to a section 148A notice.
Direct tax litigation covers every stage of a contested income tax matter, from the reply to a notice through assessment, first appeal and the Tribunal. Not every dispute has to be fought through that ladder. Income tax dispute resolution can also mean rectifying an error, seeking revision, or using the Dispute Resolution Committee or the Dispute Resolution Panel where the case qualifies.
A search under section 132 (section 247 of the 2025 Act) or a survey under section 133A (section 253) is followed by the most demanding assessments in the system. For searches initiated from 1 September 2024 the Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 brought back a block assessment of undisclosed income for the block period, with its own return, its own rate and its own penalty. Three things matter most in the weeks after a search: a careful review of every statement recorded, an inventory of seized material and the explanation each item needs, and early work on the source of every asset found.
A demand becomes payable 30 days after the demand notice. Filing an appeal does not by itself stop recovery. Apply for stay to the Assessing Officer, with the appeal filed and the grounds attached; the CBDT’s instructions provide for stay on payment of 20% of the disputed demand, with a lower amount in deserving cases. If stay is refused, the Principal Commissioner can be approached, and the Tribunal can grant stay once a second appeal is pending. A bank attachment can often be lifted within days once stay is in place.
Some disputes are better closed than litigated. The Dispute Resolution Committee route (section 245MA, now section 379) is open to smaller taxpayers whose returned income is up to Rs 50 lakh and where the variation in dispute is up to Rs 10 lakh, subject to exclusions. Whether to settle depends on the strength of the facts, the interest and penalty at stake if the appeal fails, and the effect of the issue on later years.
Chartered accountants and advocates can both represent you before the Assessing Officer, the Commissioner (Appeals), the Dispute Resolution Panel and the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. High Court appeals, writ petitions and criminal prosecutions under the Act need an advocate. LexVerge takes matters to the Tribunal itself and briefs counsel for the courts, staying on the file so the facts are not lost at the handover. Our guide to choosing a tax litigator explains the split.
Prepared by the LexVerge editorial team and reviewed by Vijay Dhawan, Managing Partner, on 11 October 2026. Facts checked against the Acts, rules, regulations and judgments cited on this page on 11 October 2026. General information, not legal advice: deadlines run from the date of your notice or order, so confirm them for your matter.
A section 148A notice is the show cause stage before reassessment. What to check, how to reply, and how the time limits work.
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