Rule 130: GAAR Commissioner directions and reference deadlines
Rule 130 sets the Commissioner’s time limits in the section 274 process. The relevant event differs by action, so the notice-compliance date, reference receipt and final-submission receipt must be recorded separately.
Official notified Income-tax Rules, 2026Need advice on Rule 130?
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Rule 130 - Time limits
(1) For the purposes of section 274, the Commissioner shall— (a) not issue directions under section 274(3) after the expiry of one month from the end of the month in which the date of compliance of the notice issued under section 274(2) falls; (b) not make any reference to the Approving Panel under section 274(4) after the expiry of two months from the end of the month in which the final submission of the assessee in response to the notice issued under section 274(2) is received; (c) issue directions to the Assessing Officer in Form No. 63, — (i) in the case referred to rule 129(4)(a), within a period of one month from the end of month in which the reference is received by him; and (ii) in the case referred to in rule 129(4)(b), within a period of two months from the end of month in which the final submission of the assessee in response to the notice issued under section 274(2) is received by him.
Rule breakdown
Directions under section 274(3)
The Commissioner cannot issue those directions after one month from the end of the month in which the notice-compliance date under section 274(2) falls.
The trigger is the notice’s compliance date, not automatically the date on which any earlier letter was received.
Reference to the Approving Panel
The Commissioner cannot make the section 274(4) reference after two months from the end of the month in which the assessee’s final submission responding to the notice is received.
Preserve the final submission and acknowledgment so the event and period can be checked.
Form 63: two different situations
For Rule 129(4)(a), directions in Form 63 are due within one month from the end of the month of receiving the reference. For Rule 129(4)(b), the period is two months from the end of the month of receiving the final submission.
Map the action to the correct branch before calculating the deadline. A single generic period cannot replace these distinctions.
Practical deadline record
Prepare a chronology identifying each notice, compliance date, reference, final submission and resulting action. Calculate the applicable month-end and permitted period.
The rule states the limits; any consequence of a disputed or late action needs analysis under the applicable Act and facts rather than an assumed automatic outcome.
Key takeaways
Different starting events
Compliance date and receipt dates are not interchangeable.
One- or two-month periods
Select the branch for the actual action.
Preserve final-submission proof
It controls the specified panel-reference and Form 63 clocks.
Practical checklist
- Maintain an event-by-event chronology.
- Keep notices and receipt acknowledgments.
- Calculate each statutory branch separately.
Avoid
- Do not replace every clock with the original notice date.
- Do not infer an unstated automatic result solely from this short rule.
FAQs
Are all deadlines measured from the original AO notice?
No. The rule uses different events for different actions.
What starts the panel-reference period?
Receipt of the assessee’s final submission responding to the section 274(2) notice, measured from that month’s end.
Is Form 63 always due within one month?
The two stated Form 63 branches use one and two months respectively.
Glossary
- Final-submission receipt
- The receipt event used for the stated two-month periods.