Report No. 12
324. Appearance by authorised representative.-
(1) Any assessee who is entitled or required to attend before any Income-tax authority in connection with any proceeding under this Act otherwise than when required under section 136 [37] to attend personally for examination on oath or affirmation, may, subject to the other provisions of this section, attend by an authorised representative.
[Section 61(1), part]
(2) For the purposes of this section, "authorised representative" means a person authorised by the assessee in writing to appear on his behalf, being-
[Section 61(1), part]
(i) a relative of or a person regularly employed by the assessee; or
[Section 61(1), part]
(ii) any officer of a Scheduled Bank with which the assessee maintains a current account or has other regular dealings; or
[Section 61(2)(0]
(iii) any legal practitioner who is entitled to practise in any civil court in India; or
[Section 61(2)(ii)]
(iv) an accountant; or
[Section 61(1), part]
(v) any other person who, immediately before the commencement of this Act, was a lawyer, an accountant or an Income-tax practitioner within the meaning of sub-section (2) of section 61 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 (11 of 1922), and was actually practising as such.
[Section 61(1), part and 61(2) (iv)]
Explanation.-In this section, "accountant" means a chartered accountant within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 (38 of 1949), and includes, in relation to any State, any person who by virtue of the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 226 of the Companies Act, 1956 (1 of 1956), is entitled to be appointed to act as an auditor of companies registered in that State.
[Section 61(2)(iii)]
(3) No person who has been dismissed from Government service after the 1st day of April, 1938, shall be qualified to represent an assessee under sub-section (1); and if any legal practitioner or accountant is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any income-tax proceedings by the authority empowered to take disciplinary action against members of the profession to which he belongs, he shall be thenceforward disqualified to represent an assessee under sub-section (1).
[Section 61(3), main para., part]
(4) If any person, other ttan a legal practitioner or accountant, is found guilty of misconduct in connection with any income-tax proceedings by the prescribed authority, the prescribed authority may direct that he shall be thenceforward disqualified to represent an assessee under sub-section (1):
[Section 61(3), main para., part]
Provided that-
(a) no such direction shall be made in respect of any person unless he is given a reasonable opportunity of being heard;
(b) any person against whom such direction is made may, within one month of the making of the direction, appeal to the Central Board of Revenue to have the direction cancelled; and
(c) no such direction shall take effect until one month from the making thereof, or, when an appeal is preferred, until the disposal of the appeal.
[Section 61(3), proviso]
(5) A person disqualified to represent an assessee by virtue of the provisions of sub-section (3) of section 61 of the Indian Income-tax Act, 1922 (11 of 1922), shall be disqualified to represent an assessee under sub-section (1).
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