Section 167 — Remedies Against Property in Cases of Representative Assessees
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Live. Part D of Chapter XV. Recovery-machinery provision.
Subject: The Assessing Officer has the same remedies against all property (of any kind) vested in or under the control or management of a representative assessee as he would have against the property of any person liable to pay tax, whether the demand is raised against the representative assessee or against the beneficiary directly, and to the same extent.
Finance Act, 2026: No change. Chapter XV is untouched by the Finance Act, 2026; the section stands as amended up to the Finance Act, 2025.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
1. The recovery limb of the representative-assessee scheme
Section 167 secures recovery. It gives the Assessing Officer, against all property vested in or under the control or management of a representative assessee, the same remedies he would have against the property of any taxpayer — and makes those remedies available whether the demand has been raised against the representative or against the beneficiary direct. It is the asset-side complement to the liability in section 161, the indemnity in section 162 and the option in section 166: once the Revenue has elected whom to assess, section 167 ensures that the property in the representative's hands answers the demand.
2. No reported jurisprudence; cognate principle
Section 167 is invoked, if at all, only at the recovery stage and rarely surfaces in reported litigation; focused searching discloses no decision construing it on the merits. The doctrinal companion is section 166 (the option doctrine): the Revenue having elected whom to assess, section 167 secures recovery against the property held by the representative. The nearest authorities are therefore the option line under section 166 (Kamalini Khatau; Jyotendrasinhji; C.R. Nagappa), cited as cognate only. No direct section 167 authority is asserted.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
The text of the section, as it stands in the Act (FA-2025 base), is set out below.
167. The Assessing Officer shall have the same remedies against all property of any kind vested in or under the control or management of any representative assessee as he would have against the property of any person liable to pay any tax, and in as full and ample a manner, whether the demand is raised against the representative assessee or against the beneficiary direct.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule. No reported decision construes section 167 on the merits; it is recovery machinery. The cognate authorities are the section 166 option line.
Cluster A — Cognate authority
Cited as cognate only: CIT v. Kamalini Khatau (209 ITR 101 SC), Jyotendrasinhji v. S.I. Tripathi (201 ITR 611 SC) and C.R. Nagappa v. CIT (73 ITR 626 SC), set out under section 166.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text is reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the local Act, base text amended up to the Finance Act, 2025), with the publisher's footnote apparatus and amendment-marker brackets removed; three asterisks (***) denote words or a provision omitted by amendment and retained only to mark the omission. The Finance Act, 2026 amends no section of Chapter XV of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (its Part-A amendments touch ss.92CA, 139, 140B, 144B, 144C, 147A, 148, 150, 153, 153B, 220, 222, 234, 245, 245MA, 254 and 270A-276 only). Citations are stated as reported; orders of the Tribunal and High Courts are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.
CHAPTER XV — LIABILITY IN SPECIAL CASES
Section 167 — Remedies Against Property in Cases of Representative Assessees
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Live. Part D of Chapter XV. Recovery-machinery provision.
Subject: The Assessing Officer has the same remedies against all property (of any kind) vested in or under the control or management of a representative assessee as he would have against the property of any person liable to pay tax, whether the demand is raised against the representative assessee or against the beneficiary directly, and to the same extent.
Finance Act, 2026: No change. Chapter XV is untouched by the Finance Act, 2026; the section stands as amended up to the Finance Act, 2025.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
1. The recovery limb of the representative-assessee scheme
Section 167 secures recovery. It gives the Assessing Officer, against all property vested in or under the control or management of a representative assessee, the same remedies he would have against the property of any taxpayer — and makes those remedies available whether the demand has been raised against the representative or against the beneficiary direct. It is the asset-side complement to the liability in section 161, the indemnity in section 162 and the option in section 166: once the Revenue has elected whom to assess, section 167 ensures that the property in the representative's hands answers the demand.
2. No reported jurisprudence; cognate principle
Section 167 is invoked, if at all, only at the recovery stage and rarely surfaces in reported litigation; focused searching discloses no decision construing it on the merits. The doctrinal companion is section 166 (the option doctrine): the Revenue having elected whom to assess, section 167 secures recovery against the property held by the representative. The nearest authorities are therefore the option line under section 166 (Kamalini Khatau; Jyotendrasinhji; C.R. Nagappa), cited as cognate only. No direct section 167 authority is asserted.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
The text of the section, as it stands in the Act (FA-2025 base), is set out below.
167. The Assessing Officer shall have the same remedies against all property of any kind vested in or under the control or management of any representative assessee as he would have against the property of any person liable to pay any tax, and in as full and ample a manner, whether the demand is raised against the representative assessee or against the beneficiary direct.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule. No reported decision construes section 167 on the merits; it is recovery machinery. The cognate authorities are the section 166 option line.
Cluster A — Cognate authority
Cited as cognate only: CIT v. Kamalini Khatau (209 ITR 101 SC), Jyotendrasinhji v. S.I. Tripathi (201 ITR 611 SC) and C.R. Nagappa v. CIT (73 ITR 626 SC), set out under section 166.
Compiled for the bharattax.co Treatise on the Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026). Statutory text is reproduced from the Income-tax Act, 1961 (text as printed in the local Act, base text amended up to the Finance Act, 2025), with the publisher's footnote apparatus and amendment-marker brackets removed; three asterisks (***) denote words or a provision omitted by amendment and retained only to mark the omission. The Finance Act, 2026 amends no section of Chapter XV of the Income-tax Act, 1961 (its Part-A amendments touch ss.92CA, 139, 140B, 144B, 144C, 147A, 148, 150, 153, 153B, 220, 222, 234, 245, 245MA, 254 and 270A-276 only). Citations are stated as reported; orders of the Tribunal and High Courts are flagged as such. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated candidly and the nearest governing authority is given. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.