Section 239 of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.433
Section 239 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 corresponds to section 433 (Form of claim for refund and limitation) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 433 of the 2025 Act
Correspondence checked against the ICAI tabular mapping of the two Acts and the BharatTax.co section commentary.
The decision most relied on for Section 239 is DCIT v. Total Oil India Pvt. Ltd. (149 Taxmann.com 332), cited in 115 of the 54 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 239
Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) is a tax on the profits of the domestic company, not on the shareholder. The Supreme Court's decision in Tata Tea Co. Ltd. did not address the precise nature of DDT as a tax on the company versus the shareholder.
Refusal to process an income tax return solely because it was filed late is unjustified. Such returns must be processed and appropriate orders passed.
The Income Tax Act is not intended to enable the state to collect or retain monies not properly payable to it. The tax authorities are required to collect only that which is properly payable by the assessee under the Act.
