Section 245M - Option to withdraw pending application.

Option to withdraw pending application allows assessee to abate Settlement Commission proceedings and resume assessment with evidentiary limits.

Section 245M permits an assessee to withdraw a pending Settlement Commission application within three months of the Finance Act, 2021 commencement by intimating the Assessing Officer; failure to opt causes the application to be deemed received by an Interim Board on allotment or transfer. The Board may allot or transfer pending applications among Interim Boards and transfer records accordingly. Withdrawal causes abatement of Settlement Commission proceedings and requires the income-tax authority to dispose of the case as if no application had been made, with the period from application to abatement excluded for certain time-limits and interest; material produced before the Commission by the assessee cannot be used, subject to a proviso preserving material collected by the income-tax authority in other proceedings.