Section 279A — Certain offences to be non-cognizable
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. Classifies specified offences as non-cognizable.
Finance Act, 2026: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Mechanism: Offences under sections 276B, 276C, 276CC, 277 and 278 are deemed non-cognizable within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Litigation profile: Sparse — a procedural classification; no direct merits authority.
A. COMMENTARY
Effect of the non-cognizable label
Section 279A deems the offences under sections 276B, 276C, 276CC, 277 and 278 to be non-cognizable within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The practical consequences flow from that classification: the police cannot register an FIR or arrest without warrant in respect of these offences; prosecution proceeds on a complaint by the competent income-tax authority (with sanction under section 279), and the Special Court takes cognizance on that complaint. The classification reinforces that these are 'complaint' offences driven by the department, not police-investigated crimes.
Bail and procedure
Being non-cognizable, the offences are ordinarily bailable in practice and the accused approaches the criminal court (including under section 482 CrPC for quashing) rather than facing police custody. The classification dovetails with the trial regime under sections 280A-280D, under which the Special Court tries these offences as summons cases where the punishment does not exceed two years (section 280C).
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
Text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; section 279A is not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Certain offences to be non-cognizable.
279A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), an offence punishable under section 276B or section 276C or section 276CC or section 277 or section 278 shall be deemed to be non-cognizable within the meaning of that Code.
C. AUTHORITIES
There is no reported decision interpreting section 279A (candour rule). It is a procedural classification understood through the Code of Criminal Procedure and the complaint-driven prosecution scheme of Chapter XXII.
Cognate authority — complaint-driven prosecution
P. Jayappan v. S.K. Perumal (1984) 149 ITR 696 (SC)
Court/Year Supreme Court, 1984.
Holding Prosecution under the Chapter is launched on the department's complaint and proceeds independently; consistent with the non-cognizable, complaint-based character confirmed by section 279A.
CHAPTER XXII — OFFENCES AND PROSECUTIONS
Section 279A — Certain offences to be non-cognizable
Case Laws & Commentary — Income-tax Act, 1961 (as amended by the Finance Act, 2026) — bharattax.co Treatise
Status: Live. Classifies specified offences as non-cognizable.
Finance Act, 2026: Not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Mechanism: Offences under sections 276B, 276C, 276CC, 277 and 278 are deemed non-cognizable within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
Litigation profile: Sparse — a procedural classification; no direct merits authority.
A. COMMENTARY
Effect of the non-cognizable label
Section 279A deems the offences under sections 276B, 276C, 276CC, 277 and 278 to be non-cognizable within the meaning of the Code of Criminal Procedure. The practical consequences flow from that classification: the police cannot register an FIR or arrest without warrant in respect of these offences; prosecution proceeds on a complaint by the competent income-tax authority (with sanction under section 279), and the Special Court takes cognizance on that complaint. The classification reinforces that these are 'complaint' offences driven by the department, not police-investigated crimes.
Bail and procedure
Being non-cognizable, the offences are ordinarily bailable in practice and the accused approaches the criminal court (including under section 482 CrPC for quashing) rather than facing police custody. The classification dovetails with the trial regime under sections 280A-280D, under which the Special Court tries these offences as summons cases where the punishment does not exceed two years (section 280C).
B. STATUTORY TEXT (verbatim — pre-Finance Act, 2026 text)
Text reproduced verbatim from the bare Act; section 279A is not amended by the Finance Act, 2026.
Certain offences to be non-cognizable.
279A. Notwithstanding anything contained in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (2 of 1974), an offence punishable under section 276B or section 276C or section 276CC or section 277 or section 278 shall be deemed to be non-cognizable within the meaning of that Code.
C. AUTHORITIES
There is no reported decision interpreting section 279A (candour rule). It is a procedural classification understood through the Code of Criminal Procedure and the complaint-driven prosecution scheme of Chapter XXII.
Cognate authority — complaint-driven prosecution
P. Jayappan v. S.K. Perumal (1984) 149 ITR 696 (SC)
Court/Year Supreme Court, 1984.
Holding Prosecution under the Chapter is launched on the department's complaint and proceeds independently; consistent with the non-cognizable, complaint-based character confirmed by section 279A.