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Appealing to the ITAT: Form 36

The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal is the last authority that decides facts. After it, an appeal to the High Court lies only on a substantial question of law. Two things about the Tribunal have changed recently and catch people out. The time limit is no longer “60 days”,…

Published 19 October 2026

The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal is the last authority that decides facts. After it, an appeal to the High Court lies only on a substantial question of law. Two things about the Tribunal have changed recently and catch people out. The time limit is no longer “60 days”, and since 1 October 2026 the Tribunal registers an appeal only if it is filed on its own e-filing portal.

Which Act governs the appeal

The 2025 Act’s repeal and savings provision, section 536(2)©, keeps the Income-tax Act, 1961 in force for appeals relating to any tax year beginning before 1 April 2026, “as per the procedure specified in the repealed Income-tax Act”. Section 536(2)(e) keeps appeals already pending before the Tribunal on that date.

Order relates to Governing Act Appeal provision Forms
AY 2026-27 and earlier years Income-tax Act, 1961 section 253 Form 36; Form 36A for cross-objections (Income-tax Rules, 1962)
Tax year 2026-27 onwards Income-tax Act, 2025 section 362 Form No. 115; Form No. 116 for cross-objections (rule 193, Income-tax Rules, 2026)

The Tribunal itself is the same body. Section 361 of the 2025 Act continues it, and its benches, single-member jurisdiction and power to regulate its own procedure are in section 364 (formerly section 255).

Which orders can be taken to the Tribunal

Under section 253(1) of the 1961 Act, the assessee may appeal against, among others:

  • an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Joint Commissioner (Appeals);
  • orders of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under section 12AA, 12AB, 80G(5)(vi), 263 (revision), 270A, 271 or 272A, and section 154 orders amending them (section 253(1)©);
  • an assessment made in pursuance of the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel, under section 253(1)(d);
  • an assessment made with the approval of the Principal Commissioner under section 144BA(12) (GAAR);
  • certain approval orders under section 10(23C).

Section 362(1) of the 2025 Act carries the same list in its own numbering. It covers orders of the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) and the Commissioner (Appeals), revision orders under section 377, DRP-directed assessments under section 362(1)(d), and section 274(12) assessments. The department appeals on the direction of the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under section 253(2) (section 362(2)).

The time limit: two months from the end of the month

The Finance (No. 2) Act, 2024 substituted the words “two months from the end of the month in” for “sixty days of the date on” in section 253(3), with effect from 1 October 2024. The appeal now has to be filed within two months from the end of the month in which the order appealed against is communicated to the assessee, or to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner. An order communicated on 3 October 2026 can be appealed until 31 December 2026. The proviso to section 253(3) still substitutes “thirty days” for “sixty days” in an appeal under clause (b) of sub-section (1). Clause (b) covers only block assessments under section 158BC for searches between 30 June 1995 and 1 January 1997, and after the 2024 substitution the words “sixty days” no longer appear in sub-section (3). Section 362(3) of the 2025 Act states the two-month rule and has no such proviso.

Some secondary material, including summaries that still circulate, gives “60 days”. That was the rule only for orders communicated before 1 October 2024.

Two other points affect the start date.

  • Section 268 of the 1961 Act, and section 372 of the 2025 Act, exclude the day the order was served and, where a copy was not furnished with the notice, the time needed to obtain one.
  • The Finance Act, 2026 inserted section 254(3A) of the 1961 Act, and a new section 363(10) of the 2025 Act. Under these, a Tribunal order passed on or after 1 October 2026 is sent to the jurisdictional Principal Commissioner or Commissioner electronically on the designated portal, “and the provisions relating to time limits … shall apply accordingly”. This fixes the date from which the department’s own time limits run.

Cross-objections. When the other side appeals, the respondent may file a memorandum of cross-objections within 30 days of receiving notice of the appeal, even without having appealed (section 253(4); section 362(4)). It is disposed of as if it were an appeal filed in time.

Delay. Under section 253(5) and section 362(5), the Tribunal may admit a late appeal or cross-objection “if it is satisfied that there was sufficient cause”. The approach to “sufficient cause” is the one described in Appealing to the Commissioner (Appeals): the explanation matters more than the number of days. Section 536(2)(k) of the 2025 Act prevents an appeal whose period expired before 1 April 2026 from being revived merely because the new Act allows a longer period.

Fees

Under section 253(6) and section 362(6), the fee depends on the total income as computed by the Assessing Officer:

Assessed total income Fee
Rs 1,00,000 or less Rs 500
More than Rs 1,00,000, up to Rs 2,00,000 Rs 1,500
More than Rs 2,00,000 1 per cent of assessed income, maximum Rs 10,000
Any other subject matter Rs 500

No fee is payable on a departmental appeal or on a memorandum of cross-objections. A stay application carries a fee of Rs 500 (section 253(7); section 362(8)). An application for rectification of a Tribunal order under section 254(2) carries Rs 50.

What to have ready

  • The order appealed against, and the date it was communicated. It comes from the portal’s e-Proceedings or from the order email.
  • The orders below: the assessment order, the order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or Joint Commissioner (Appeals), and where relevant the Transfer Pricing Officer’s order and the DRP’s directions.
  • Grounds of appeal, set out concisely.
  • The grounds and statement of facts filed before the first appellate authority or the DRP.
  • The fee challan.
  • A DSC for the person who must sign. The Tribunal’s practice note requires every memorandum and document that needs the appellant’s signature to be digitally signed (see below).
  • PAN or TAN, mobile number and email of the appellant, and the respondent’s email and mobile number if available. The practice note calls these “key identifiers”.
  • An authority to the representative, where a representative files.

Filing on the Tribunal’s e-filing portal

The Tribunal issued a Practice Note dated 30 September 2026 under section 255(5) of the 1961 Act and rule 6 of the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963, as amended in 2025. It says:

  1. Memoranda of appeal “shall, henceforth, be presented electronically using the designated e-Filing Portal of the ITAT”, at https://itat.gov.in/efiling (paragraph 2).
  2. Every memorandum and accompanying document needing the appellant’s signature is to be digitally signed and verified by the person specified in rule 47 of the Income-tax Rules, 1962, or by the authorised representative under rule 16 of the Tribunal Rules, before upload. The assessee must specifically authorise the representative to file (paragraph 4).
  3. The date of upload of the digitally signed memorandum is the date of presentation (paragraph 5).
  4. An acknowledgement is emailed on filing. After preliminary scrutiny, the Registry registers the appeal and emails a registration summary within two working days (paragraph 6).
  5. From 1 October 2026, a memorandum “not filed through the e-Filing Portal” or not in the prescribed form, or not signed and verified as prescribed, “shall not be registered” (paragraph 7).
  6. Paper books, documents and petitions in an e-filed appeal go only through the portal. In appeals filed physically before 1 October 2026, they continue in physical form (paragraphs 8 and 9).
  7. Cross-objections, stay applications and miscellaneous applications are e-filed in the same way (paragraph 13).
  8. Both sides access the papers through the portal’s Appeal Dashboard, by OTP or by password (paragraphs 11 and 12).

The fee is paid by challan before filing, and the challan details are entered in the memorandum.

Signing and verification

Rule 47 of the 1962 Rules prescribes Form 36, and Form 36A for cross-objections, and specifies who signs them; the Tribunal’s practice note adopts that rule for digital signing. Rule 193 of the 2026 Rules does the same for Forms 115 and 116 by reference to rule 167(3). On the e-filing portal that signature is a digital signature.

Stay, hearing and decision

Filing an appeal does not stop recovery. Under the first proviso to section 254(2A), the Tribunal may grant a stay of up to 180 days only if the assessee deposits at least 20 per cent of the sum payable, or furnishes security of an equal amount. Section 363(6) of the 2025 Act is the same. The extensions, the 365-day ceiling, and the Supreme Court’s 2021 decision on the third proviso are covered in Stay of Demand Pending Appeal.

Benches sit in pairs, one judicial and one accountant member. A single member may decide a case where the assessed income does not exceed Rs 50 lakh (section 255(3); section 364(3)). Section 254(2A) and section 363(5) set a target of four years from the end of the financial year of filing, “where it is possible”.

What can be changed after filing

Additional grounds and additional evidence are governed by the Income-tax (Appellate Tribunal) Rules, 1963. A Tribunal order may be amended under section 254(2) to rectify a mistake apparent from the record, within six months from the end of the month in which the order was passed. Section 363(2) of the 2025 Act has the same period. An amendment that increases the assessee’s liability needs a hearing first (proviso to section 254(2); section 363(3)). Beyond the Tribunal, an appeal lies to the High Court only on a substantial question of law, under section 260A or section 365.

The procedure in order

  1. Identify the Act. For AY 2026-27 and earlier, file Form 36 under section 253 of the 1961 Act. For tax year 2026-27 onwards, file Form No. 115 under section 362 of the 2025 Act.
  2. Note the date the order was communicated, and count two months from the end of that month.
  3. Pay the fee by challan; add Rs 500 if a stay application will be filed.
  4. Prepare the grounds, the orders below, and the grounds and facts filed earlier.
  5. Have every document needing the appellant’s signature digitally signed by the person authorised to verify the return, or by an authorised representative with specific authority.
  6. File on https://itat.gov.in/efiling, and keep the emailed acknowledgement and the registration summary.
  7. If the other side appeals, file any cross-objections in Form 36A, or Form No. 116, within 30 days of notice.
  8. If recovery is pressing, apply for stay. The Tribunal’s power is conditioned on a 20 per cent deposit or equal security.

The next guide covers stay of demand pending appeal, before the Assessing Officer, the Principal Commissioner and the Tribunal: Stay of Demand Pending Appeal.

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