Section 362 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 allows an appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against orders of the Commissioner (Appeals) and specified orders of senior authorities, within two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated.
What section 362 does
Section 362 is the second appeal — the successor to section 253 of the Income-tax Act, 1961. It sets out who may appeal, against which orders, and by when.
The limitation is worth noting carefully because the drafting has changed. The old Act allowed sixty days from the date of communication; the new Act allows two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated. That is a clearer and generally slightly longer period, and it is computed from a month end rather than a date.
The right of appeal runs both ways. Sub-section (2) allows the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner, if he objects to an order of the Commissioner (Appeals) or Joint Commissioner (Appeals), to direct the Assessing Officer to appeal. And sub-section (4) gives the respondent a memorandum of cross-objections within thirty days.
The Income-tax Act, 2025 takes effect from 1 April 2026 and applies from tax year 2026-27. The Income-tax Act, 1961 continues to govern every year up to 31 March 2026, including assessments, appeals and penalties for those years, because of the repeal and savings provision in section 536. Figures quoted here are the amounts written into the Act as enacted (with the Gazette corrigenda of 3 September 2025); the annual Finance Act can change rates and thresholds.
Old Act and new Act, side by side
The table below shows what the Income-tax Act, 1961 did and where the same ground is covered in the Income-tax Act, 2025.
| Income-tax Act, 1961 | What it did | Income-tax Act, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 253(1) | Orders appealable to the Tribunal | 362(1) |
| 253(2) | Departmental appeal on the Commissioner's direction | 362(2) |
| 253(3) | Limitation — now two months from the end of the month | 362(3) |
| 253(4) | Memorandum of cross-objections within thirty days | 362(4) |
| 246A | First appeal | 357 |
| 249 | Form, fee and limitation for the first appeal | 358 |
| 260A | Appeal to the High Court | 365 |
Section 362 sub-section by sub-section
Read this alongside the bare text — each heading below is a sub-section of the section as enacted.
Sub-section (1) — what can be appealed
An aggrieved assessee may appeal against: (a) an order of a Commissioner (Appeals) or Joint Commissioner (Appeals); (b) an order of a Principal Commissioner or Commissioner under sections 332(7), (8) or (9), 351(2)(ii) or 354(3) — the non-profit registration provisions — or under section 377 (revision prejudicial to revenue), section 439 (under-reporting penalty) or section 465, and section 287 amendments of such orders; (c) an order of a Principal Chief Commissioner, Chief Commissioner, Principal Director General, Director General, Principal Director or Director under section 377 or 465; (d) an order of an Assessing Officer under section 270(10) or 279 pursuant to Dispute Resolution Panel directions; (e) an order under section 270(10) or 279 with the approval referred to in section 274(12); and (f) an order under section 234(4).
Sub-section (2) — the departmental appeal
The Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may, if he objects to any order passed by the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or Commissioner (Appeals), direct the Assessing Officer to appeal to the Tribunal. The department's appeal is therefore filed by the Assessing Officer on a direction, not by the Commissioner personally.
Sub-section (3) — two months from the end of the month
Every appeal must be filed within two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated to the assessee or to the Principal Commissioner or Commissioner. Because the clock starts at a month end, an order communicated on 3 June and one communicated on 28 June share the same due date.
Sub-section (4) — cross-objections
On receiving notice that the other party has appealed, the Assessing Officer or the assessee may — irrespective of not having appealed themselves — file a memorandum of cross-objections within thirty days of receipt of the notice, verified as prescribed, against any part of the order. This lets a party who was content to let the matter rest defend or attack other findings once the dispute is reopened by the other side.
Where the appeal goes next
From the Tribunal, an appeal on a substantial question of law lies to the High Court under section 365, to be heard by not less than two judges under section 366, and thence to the Supreme Court under section 367. Orders of the Tribunal itself are dealt with in section 363 and its procedure in section 364.
Worked example
An order of the Commissioner (Appeals) is communicated on 14 September 2029.
| Step | Provision | Date |
|---|---|---|
| Limitation for the Tribunal appeal | Two months from the end of September 2029 — section 362(3) | 30 November 2029 |
| If the department appeals instead and notice is received on 20 November 2029 | Cross-objections within thirty days — section 362(4) | 20 December 2029 |
| Further appeal on a substantial question of law | Section 365 | To the High Court |
Contrast the old computation: sixty days from 14 September 2029 would have expired on 13 November 2029. The new formulation gives until 30 November — the month-end start point is a real, if modest, difference and should be built into diary systems rather than assumed to be the same as before.
Note also the value of the cross-objection. A taxpayer who won on three grounds and lost on one may accept the order; but if the department appeals the three it lost, the taxpayer can raise the fourth by cross-objection without having filed its own appeal.
Compliance checklist and due dates
- Compute limitation as two months from the end of the month of communication, not sixty days from the date.
- Check whether the order is one listed in sub-section (1); orders of the Commissioner under sections 377, 439 and 465 are appealable directly to the Tribunal.
- Where the other side appeals, consider a memorandum of cross-objections within thirty days even if you did not appeal.
- For Dispute Resolution Panel cases, note that the appeal lies against the Assessing Officer's order under section 270(10) or 279 passed pursuant to the directions — clause (1)(d).
- Keep evidence of the date of communication of the order; it starts the clock.
- Plan the further route: High Court under section 365 on a substantial question of law.
Common mistakes
- Applying a sixty-day limitation carried over from section 253 of the old Act.
- Missing the cross-objection window of thirty days from receipt of notice of the other party's appeal.
- Appealing a revision order under section 378 to the Tribunal — sub-section (1)(b)(ii) lists section 377, the revenue-favouring revision, not section 378.
- Overlooking that the department's appeal is filed by the Assessing Officer on the Commissioner's direction.
This is an explanatory guide, not tax advice, and it does not reproduce the section in full. Read the bare text of the section before you rely on it, and check for later amendments, the Income-tax Rules made under the new Act, and CBDT circulars and notifications.