Section 263 revision barred for orders passed in conformity with DRP directions under section 144C, Tribunal holds.

An assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer in strict conformity with Dispute Resolution Panel directions under section 144C cannot be revised under section 263. The Tribunal reasoned that section 144C(13) requires the Assessing Officer to complete the assessment only in accordance with the DRP directions, leaving no scope for the Principal Commissioner to indirectly alter that order through revision. It held that the statutory scheme of section 144C does not contemplate such revisionary interference and that the exercise of jurisdiction under section 263 was invalid. The revisionary order was therefore quashed on jurisdictional grounds.

---

---

Issues: Whether an order passed by the Assessing Officer in conformity with the directions of the Dispute Resolution Panel under section 144C of the Income-tax Act, 1961 can be revised under section 263 of the Act.

Analysis: The assessment order was passed pursuant to directions issued by the Dispute Resolution Panel, a collegium of three Commissioners, and section 144C(13) mandates that the Assessing Officer complete the assessment strictly in conformity with those directions. The Tribunal held that section 263 cannot be used to indirectly alter an order that the Assessing Officer had no power to vary on his own after DRP directions. It further held that the scheme of section 144C does not contemplate revision by the Principal Commissioner of an order so passed, and that the impugned revisionary exercise was without jurisdiction.

Conclusion: The revision under section 263 was quashed and the assessee succeeded on the jurisdictional issue.

---