Master Class on Sec. 263 by Advocate Zoheb Hossain

Episode Duration:
100 minutes

After the overwhelming response to the first Master-class on Re-assessments in May, legal hotshot Adv. Zoheb Hossain is back to regale us... this time with a scholarly exposition on a Section & Power to IRS officers whose origins can be traced back to the 1922 Act! Yes, we are indeed talking of the revisionary power under Sec. 263 of Income Tax Act!

What shall the episode cover?
Among the 20 points that Adv. Zoheb Hossain has covered in the epsiode, include:

1. Scope of revisionary power of Commissioner under section 263. Whether power u/s 263 includes the power to make a fresh assessment?
2.  What is meant by ‘prejudicial to the interests of the revenue’? Can it include loss of tax or orders unfavourable to the Department?
3. What is the scope of deeming provision to Sec. 263 with respect to the lack of inquiry? Can lack of inquiry be a ground for invocation of Sec. 263? 
4. Whether issuance of notice a prerequisite to passing of an Order under Section 263? Can an irregularity in service of notice wipe out the entire proceedings?
5. Can disclosure of full facts by assessee at the assessment stage confer immunity from revision by Commissioner u/s 263?
6. Does power of revision include power to conduct roving enquiries?
7. Can the Commissioner under section 263 cure jurisdictional defects? Whether power under section 263 include within itself power to correct a legal error like non-issuance of notice u/s 143(2) which the AO failed to issue during the original assessment proceedings?
8. What is the manner in which the Commissioner is required to write an Order under Section 263?
9. The doctrine of merger, and how far it forfeits the Commissioner’s power? Whether revision u/s 263 by CIT is sustainable on issues which were not a subject matter of an appeal before the appellate authority?
10. Comparative analysis of similar provisions in other jurisdictions (lsuch as UK, US, Australia, EU, Singapore)
     

About the Master-Class Series:
The Taxsutra 'Master-Class' series is an effort to decode the nuances of some of the tricky sections in the Income-tax Act, where the Maestros, who interpret, argue and play a vital role in laying down the law on these subjects, will unravel the mystery and mystique behind these controversial provisions!

About Adv. Zoheb Hossain:
At the age of just 35, Mr. Hossain has emerged as a 'Go-To' Senior Standing Counsel for the Income-tax Department. He has handed the Revenue big wins in big matters in both the High Courts & Supreme Court and has over 200 reported judgments to his credit. The Oxford educated Mr. Hossain earned his stripes as a budding lawyer, assisting legal eagle and then Solicitor General Mr. Mohan Parasaran in seminal cases like Vodafone. Over the last few years, he has appeared and defended the Revenue in over 1500 cases of diverse nature touching upon almost all areas of Income Tax Act.