Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Clothes the Authority with the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 as referred to in s.131 (discovery, inspection, enforcing attendance, compelling production, etc.); deems it a civil court for s.195 (but not Chapter XXVI) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and every proceeding before it a judicial proceeding within ss.193, 228 and 196 IPC. Sub-section (3) transfers these powers to the Board for Advance Rulings from a notified date.
Status: No direct merits case law. Candour rule applied. The provision underpins the Authority’s character as a judicial body, for which Columbia Sportswear is the governing authority.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
1. Civil-court and judicial-proceeding clothing
Section 245U equips the forum with the coercive and procedural powers necessary to discharge an adjudicatory function: the s.131 civil-court powers (summoning and enforcing attendance, requiring discovery and production of documents, receiving evidence on affidavit, etc.), the status of a civil court for the purpose of s.195 CrPC (offences relating to documents/false evidence in judicial proceedings), and the deeming of its proceedings as “judicial proceedings” within ss.193, 228 and 196 of the Indian Penal Code. These attributes confirm that proceedings before the Authority are judicial in nature, and that false evidence before it attracts the criminal sanctions applicable to courts.
2. Connection to the forum’s character
The judicial-proceeding clothing in s.245U is one of the textual foundations for the Supreme Court’s conclusion in Columbia Sportswear that the Authority exercises judicial power and is a Tribunal under Articles 136 and 227. The powers are conferred to enable the forum to ascertain facts and law authoritatively, consistent with the binding effect the ruling carries under s.245S.
3. Candour
There is no reported decision construing s.245U on its merits. The governing authority on the judicial character it secures is Columbia Sportswear, noted below as cognate; no case law is invented.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
The text of section 245U, as it stands in the Act (Finance Act, 2025 base text), is set out below.
245U. (1) The Authority shall, for the purpose of exercising its powers, have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) as are referred to in section 131 of this Act.
(2) The Authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195, but not for the purposes of Chapter XXVI, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) and every proceeding before the Authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
(3) On and from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, the powers of the Authority under this section shall be exercised by the Board for Advance Rulings and the provisions of this section shall mutatis mutandis apply to the Board for Advance Rulings as they apply to the Authority.
Editorial note: the CrPC and IPC references carry the local Act’s notification entries (now read as Act No. 46 of 2023 / Act No. 45 of 2023); the publisher’s asterisk/dagger markers have been removed without altering any statutory word.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule: no merits authority construes s.245U. The cognate authority below explains the judicial character the section secures.
Cluster 1 — Judicial character of the forum (cognate)
Columbia Sportswear Company v. DIT (2012) 346 ITR 161 (SC)
Held: The Authority exercises judicial power and is a Tribunal under Arts. 136/227 — a conclusion supported by the civil-court/judicial-proceeding powers conferred by s.245U.
Relevance: Connects the s.245U powers to the forum’s adjudicatory character and reviewability.
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; no statutory word is altered. Chapter XIX-B (Advance Rulings, ss.245N–245W) was inserted by the Finance Act, 1993; the Authority for Advance Rulings was replaced, for fresh income-tax applications, by the Board for Advance Rulings (s.245-OB, Finance Act, 2021), with a statutory appeal to the High Court (s.245W) and the e-Advance Rulings Scheme, 2022. The Finance Act, 2026 makes NO amendment to any section of Chapter XIX-B. Rulings of the Authority for Advance Rulings are cited as the natural body of jurisprudence on this Chapter; Supreme Court and High Court decisions are flagged as such; there is virtually no Income-tax Appellate Tribunal authority on Chapter XIX-B (advance-ruling disputes travel to the High Court/Supreme Court, not the Tribunal), which is stated candidly rather than padded. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated and the nearest governing authority is given. Citations are stated as reported and have been web-verified; the reader should consult the official report before filing. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.
CHAPTER XIX-B — ADVANCE RULINGS
Section 245U — Powers of the Authority
Case Laws & Commentary · Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) · bharattax.co Treatise
Provision: Clothes the Authority with the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 as referred to in s.131 (discovery, inspection, enforcing attendance, compelling production, etc.); deems it a civil court for s.195 (but not Chapter XXVI) of the Code of Criminal Procedure, and every proceeding before it a judicial proceeding within ss.193, 228 and 196 IPC. Sub-section (3) transfers these powers to the Board for Advance Rulings from a notified date.
Finance Act, 2026: No amendment to section 245U.
Status: No direct merits case law. Candour rule applied. The provision underpins the Authority’s character as a judicial body, for which Columbia Sportswear is the governing authority.
A. SECTION COMMENTARY
1. Civil-court and judicial-proceeding clothing
Section 245U equips the forum with the coercive and procedural powers necessary to discharge an adjudicatory function: the s.131 civil-court powers (summoning and enforcing attendance, requiring discovery and production of documents, receiving evidence on affidavit, etc.), the status of a civil court for the purpose of s.195 CrPC (offences relating to documents/false evidence in judicial proceedings), and the deeming of its proceedings as “judicial proceedings” within ss.193, 228 and 196 of the Indian Penal Code. These attributes confirm that proceedings before the Authority are judicial in nature, and that false evidence before it attracts the criminal sanctions applicable to courts.
2. Connection to the forum’s character
The judicial-proceeding clothing in s.245U is one of the textual foundations for the Supreme Court’s conclusion in Columbia Sportswear that the Authority exercises judicial power and is a Tribunal under Articles 136 and 227. The powers are conferred to enable the forum to ascertain facts and law authoritatively, consistent with the binding effect the ruling carries under s.245S.
3. Candour
There is no reported decision construing s.245U on its merits. The governing authority on the judicial character it secures is Columbia Sportswear, noted below as cognate; no case law is invented.
B. STATUTORY POSITION (verbatim text)
The text of section 245U, as it stands in the Act (Finance Act, 2025 base text), is set out below.
245U. (1) The Authority shall, for the purpose of exercising its powers, have all the powers of a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908) as are referred to in section 131 of this Act.
(2) The Authority shall be deemed to be a civil court for the purposes of section 195, but not for the purposes of Chapter XXVI, of the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974) and every proceeding before the Authority shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding within the meaning of sections 193 and 228, and for the purpose of section 196, of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
(3) On and from such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint, the powers of the Authority under this section shall be exercised by the Board for Advance Rulings and the provisions of this section shall mutatis mutandis apply to the Board for Advance Rulings as they apply to the Authority.
Editorial note: the CrPC and IPC references carry the local Act’s notification entries (now read as Act No. 46 of 2023 / Act No. 45 of 2023); the publisher’s asterisk/dagger markers have been removed without altering any statutory word.
C. AUTHORITIES
Candour rule: no merits authority construes s.245U. The cognate authority below explains the judicial character the section secures.
Cluster 1 — Judicial character of the forum (cognate)
Columbia Sportswear Company v. DIT (2012) 346 ITR 161 (SC)
Held: The Authority exercises judicial power and is a Tribunal under Arts. 136/227 — a conclusion supported by the civil-court/judicial-proceeding powers conferred by s.245U.
Relevance: Connects the s.245U powers to the forum’s adjudicatory character and reviewability.
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; no statutory word is altered. Chapter XIX-B (Advance Rulings, ss.245N–245W) was inserted by the Finance Act, 1993; the Authority for Advance Rulings was replaced, for fresh income-tax applications, by the Board for Advance Rulings (s.245-OB, Finance Act, 2021), with a statutory appeal to the High Court (s.245W) and the e-Advance Rulings Scheme, 2022. The Finance Act, 2026 makes NO amendment to any section of Chapter XIX-B. Rulings of the Authority for Advance Rulings are cited as the natural body of jurisprudence on this Chapter; Supreme Court and High Court decisions are flagged as such; there is virtually no Income-tax Appellate Tribunal authority on Chapter XIX-B (advance-ruling disputes travel to the High Court/Supreme Court, not the Tribunal), which is stated candidly rather than padded. Where a section has not been judicially construed, that is stated and the nearest governing authority is given. Citations are stated as reported and have been web-verified; the reader should consult the official report before filing. This material is for professional reference and is not legal advice.