Inter-Commissioner agreement is mandatory for assessment file transfer under Section 127(2)(a); mere absence of disagreement is insufficient.

Transfer of an assessee's income-tax assessment file between jurisdictions under Section 127(2)(a) is valid only where the Commissioners having jurisdiction over the transferor and transferee Assessing Officers positively agree, when they are not subordinate to the same authority. Mere absence of disagreement is not enough to satisfy the statutory requirement of agreement. On the record, no express inter-Commissioner agreement was shown, so the transfer could not be authorised under Section 127(2)(a) and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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Issues: Whether the transfer of the assessee's income-tax assessment file from Tamil Nadu to Kerala was valid under Section 127(2)(a) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 in the absence of an express agreement between the jurisdictional Commissioners.

Analysis: Section 127(2)(a) requires agreement between the Commissioners having jurisdiction over the transferring and transferee Assessing Officers when they are not subordinate to the same authority. The record did not show any such positive agreement; the Revenue's position only indicated absence of disagreement, which is insufficient to satisfy the statutory requirement of agreement.

Conclusion: The transfer was not authorised under Section 127(2)(a) and was set aside in favour of the assessee.

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