Board power to issue binding administrative instructions, limited to avoid directing case outcomes and protecting appellate discretion.
The Board is empowered to issue binding orders, instructions and directions to subordinate income tax authorities for uniform administration while being expressly prohibited from directing a specific outcome in any particular case or interfering with appellate officers' discretion. The Board may issue general or special orders to set procedural guidelines, publish them for public guidance, authorise non appellate authorities to admit time barred claims to alleviate genuine hardship, and relax specified procedural requirements where non compliance was beyond the assessee's control, subject to reasons and parliamentary laying of such relaxation orders.