Section 238: control of income-tax authorities

Introduction

The mechanism is a Board notification. The authorities on each side of the reporting relationship must be specified in that notification.

Key takeaways

What the section provides

The Board may, by notification, direct that any income-tax authority or authorities specified in the notification shall be subordinate to such other income-tax authority or authorities as specified in that notification.

Scope and business relevance

The Board can use a notification to specify which income-tax authority or authorities are subordinate to which others. The notification therefore supplies the particular reporting relationship; the section supplies the enabling power.

This distinction matters when a business needs to identify the relevant administrative chain. A title on a letterhead or an assumed organisational chart should be checked against the applicable notification and its scope.

Limits and related provisions

Section 238 does not itself allocate a particular taxpayer or case to a named officer, decide an assessment on its merits or list one permanent hierarchy for every situation. A question of jurisdiction needs the provisions and instruments governing that question.

Administrative subordination should not be treated as automatic authority to alter an assessment or as proof that every direction on the merits is valid. Identify the legal basis for the specific power being exercised.

Step-by-step review

1. Identify the authority whose reporting relationship is in question.

2. Locate the Board notification relied on and read the authorities and scope specified in it.

3. Check whether that instrument has been amended or replaced before applying it to the relevant time and situation.

4. Keep jurisdiction or assessment-power questions separate and examine the instruments governing those issues.

Hypothetical practical example

Hypothetical illustration: a taxpayer receives correspondence from Authority A and wants to know whether Authority B supervises it. Section 238 alone does not name the answer. The applicable Board notification must specify the relationship. Even if it does, that finding does not independently decide which authority may assess the taxpayer.

Documents and record checklist

The notification identifying the relevant subordinate and supervising authorities.

Any amending or replacing notification relevant to the period.

The case correspondence and separate jurisdiction instrument if case allocation is disputed.

Official Act source

• Income-tax Act, 2025 as amended by Finance Act, 2026: Section 238

Step-by-step flow for checking control under Section 238

1. 1

   Is there a notification by the Board on the point?

   Section 238 works only through a notification issued by the Board.

   • No: Section 238 does not by itself make one authority subordinate to another.
   • Yes: Go to the next step.
2. 2

   Which authority does the notification name as subordinate, and to which authority?

   Read the notification for the specific authority or authorities and the authority to which they are made subordinate.

3. 3

   Is the notification the current version?

   Check whether a later notification has changed the subordination before relying on it.

4. 4

   What does the subordination affect?

   It settles administrative control. It also matters for other provisions that refer to subordinate officers, such as transfer of cases between Assessing Officers subordinate to the same specified income-tax authority under Section 243(1). Jurisdiction over a case still comes from Sections 241 and 242.

Practical checklist

Glossary

Subordination

The relationship of one specified authority being subordinate to another under the notification.

Notification

The formal instrument through which the Board exercises the Section 238 power.

Frequently asked questions