Section 249(4)(a) of the Income Tax Act
Income-tax Act, 2025: s.358
Section 249(4)(a) falls under section 249 of the Income-tax Act, 1961, which corresponds to section 358 (Form of appeal and limitation) of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Read section 358 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 249(4)(a) is IPCA v. Gajanand Meena (329 ITR 249), cited in 16 of the 84 judgments on BharatTax that turn on this section.
Leading authorities on Section 249(4)(a)
Reopening an assessment beyond four years from the relevant assessment year is invalid if the reasons provided do not contain a finding that the assessee failed to make a full and true disclosure of all necessary facts. The condition precedent for exercising the power to reopen an assessment after four years is absent in such cases.
An appeal filed by an assessee cannot be rejected solely for non-payment of tax on the income shown in the return if the entire tax liability is disputed.
For the purpose of Section 249(4) of the Income Tax Act, 'tax' does not include 'interest'. An appeal filed before the CIT(A) that has paid the admitted tax liability, excluding interest, can be considered valid.
