Kotak Mahindra Bank Ltd, Mumbai vs Department Of Income Tax on 16 March, 2016
"Such instructions may be by way of relaxation of any of the provisions of the sections specified there
or otherwise. The Board, thus, has powers, inter alia, to tone down the rigour of the law and ensure a
fair enforcement of its provisions, by issuing circulars in exercise of its statutory powers under section
119 which are binding on the authorities in the administration of the Act. Under section
119(2)(a),however, the circulars as contemplated therein cannot be adverse to the assessee. Thus, the
authority which wields the power for its own advantage under the Act is given the right to forgo the
advantage when required to wield it in the manner it considers just by relaxing the rigour of the law or
in other permissible manners as laid down in section 119. The power is given for the purpose of just,
proper and efficient management of the work of assessment and in public interest. It is a beneficial
power given to the Board for proper administration of fiscal law so that undue hardship may not be
caused to the assessee and the fiscal laws may be correctly applied. Hard cases which can be properly
categorised as belonging to a class, can thus be given the benefit of relaxation of law by issuing
circulars binding on the taxing authorities.""