Section 158 of the Income-tax Act, 1961: Intimation of Assessment of Firm
Section 158 prescribed written intimation of the assessed income of certain firms and its allocation among partners for historical assessment years. The provision was omitted from the framework of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Text of Section 158: Intimation of assessment of firm
Whenever, in respect of the assessment year commencing on the 1st day of April, 1992, or any earlier assessment year, a registered firm is assessed, or an unregistered firm is assessed under the provisions of clause (b) of section 183, the Assessing Officer shall notify to the firm by an order in writing the amount of its total income assessed and the apportionment thereof between the several partners.
Source: Income Tax Department - Section 158.
Meaning and scope of Section 158
The provision dealt with an assessment communication to a firm under the earlier system of taxation of partnerships. Its operation was expressly limited to assessment years commencing on or before 1 April 1992, in the circumstances stated in the section.
- Registered firm: A firm recognised as registered under the historical partnership assessment rules applicable to the relevant assessment year.
- Unregistered firm under Section 183(b): An unregistered firm assessed under the specific historical provision referred to in Section 158.
- Assessing Officer: The income-tax authority empowered to make the assessment and issue the written intimation.
- Apportionment among partners: The allocation of the firm's assessed total income among its partners as recorded for the relevant historical assessment.
The written order had to communicate both the firm's assessed total income and the apportionment among its partners. This was an assessment-related notification, not a general rule for computing modern partnership income.
Legislative amendments and historical context
The reference to the Assessing Officer replaced the earlier expression Income-tax Officer with effect from 1 April 1988, under the Direct Tax Laws (Amendment) Act, 1987 (Act 4 of 1988).
Section 63 of the Finance Act, 1992 (Act 18 of 1992), effective 1 April 1993, confined the registered-firm wording to assessment years commencing on 1 April 1992 or earlier. This explains why the provision continued to appear in the 1961 Act despite having a narrowly historical field of application.
Position under the Income-tax Act, 2025
The official 1961-to-2025 section mapping identifies Section 158, "Intimation of assessment of firm," as omitted. It should not be confused with other provisions bearing the number 158 or with the provisions governing the assessment of firms under the new law.
For present-day firm assessment requirements, consult Section 325 of the Income-tax Act, 2025, which addresses assessment as a firm, including partnership instruments and partners' shares. Section 325 is a related modern provision, not a direct replacement for former Section 158.
For pre-2026 assessment years and pending historical proceedings, consult the applicable repeal and savings rules and the Income Tax Department guidance on the new Act.
Frequently asked questions
Is Section 158 of the Income-tax Act, 1961 still operative for new assessments?
No. It concerned specified historical assessment years, and the Income-tax Act, 2025 omits the provision. Its historical relevance may remain in proceedings relating to earlier years.
What did the written intimation contain?
It stated the firm's assessed total income and the apportionment of that income among the partners.
Does Section 158 apply to all partnership firms?
No. Its text was confined to the specified older assessment years and categories of firm assessments.