Raising the total income limit of the cases that may be decided by single member bench of Appellate Tribunal [Section 255(3)]

Effective from: 1st June, 2016

(i) Section 255(1) provides that the powers and functions of the Appellate Tribunal may be exercised and discharged by Benches constituted by the President of the Appellate Tribunal among the members thereof.

(ii) As per section 255(2), a Bench should normally consist of one judicial member and one accountant member.

(iii) However, section 255(3) provides for constitution of a single member bench and a Special Bench.

(iv) Section 255(3) provides that a single member bench may dispose of any case which pertains to an assessee whose total income as computed by the Assessing Officer in the said case does not exceed ` 15 lakh.

(v) The limit for a single member bench was revised last year from Rs 5 lakh to Rs 15 lakh.

(vi) In order to further expedite the process of dispute resolution at the appellate tribunal level, section 255(3) has been amended to provide that a bench comprising of a single member may dispose of a case where the total income as computed by the Assessing Officer in the said case does not exceed  Rs 50 lakh.