Income Tax Law / Appeals and Revision

Section 258 of the Income-tax Act, 1961: Power to Require Amendment of a Statement of Case

Q: What was the purpose of Section 258?

It allowed the High Court or Supreme Court to request additions or alterations to an insufficient statement of case from the Appellate Tribunal.

Q: Does Section 258 have a direct equivalent in the Income-tax Act, 2025?

The official old-to-new section mapping marks Section 258 as redundant and does not identify a direct equivalent.

Section 258 addresses a narrow procedural power under the former income-tax reference system. When the High Court or Supreme Court finds that a statement of case referred by the Income-tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) is insufficient to decide the questions raised, it may send the matter back to the Tribunal for directed additions or alterations.

Legal position in October 2026: The Income-tax Act, 2025 came into force on 1 April 2026, subject to repeal and savings provisions for earlier matters. Section 258 is a legacy reference provision, not the ordinary route for a new appeal. The official 1961-to-2025 mapping identifies it as redundant rather than assigning an equivalent section in the 2025 Act.

Meaning and scope of Section 258

The expression statement of case refers to the factual and procedural statement prepared by the Appellate Tribunal for a court deciding a referred question of law. Section 258 allowed the court to request a fuller or corrected statement when the existing record did not adequately permit a decision on that question.

In substance, the section provided that where the High Court or Supreme Court was dissatisfied with the sufficiency of the statement in a referred case, it could refer the case back to the Tribunal and direct the necessary additions or alterations. This is a power to obtain an adequate case statement, not a general power to reopen an assessment or automatically reconsider every factual finding.

How the power operated

Reference before a court: A question of law arose in a case sent through the applicable statutory reference procedure.
Insufficient statement: The High Court or Supreme Court concluded that the Tribunal's statement did not adequately enable it to decide the question.
Direction to the Tribunal: The court could return the case for specified additions or alterations.
Further consideration: The supplemented statement could then assist the court in deciding the referred legal question.

The court's direction was tied to the insufficiency of the statement. The provision did not create an independent right for every taxpayer to demand a fresh hearing before the Tribunal.

Related provisions under the Income-tax Act, 1961

Provision	Subject and relevance
Section 254	Orders of the Appellate Tribunal; a Tribunal order could give rise to further proceedings.
Section 256	Historical reference of a question of law to the High Court, applicable to qualifying Tribunal orders made before 1 October 1998.
Section 257	Historical direct reference to the Supreme Court in specified cases involving conflicting High Court decisions.
Section 258	Power to require the Tribunal to add to or alter an insufficient statement of a referred case.
Section 260A	Statutory appeal to the High Court from a Tribunal order involving a substantial question of law, subject to applicable conditions.

The reference machinery in Sections 256 to 258 must be distinguished from the subsequent High Court appeal procedure. For example, Section 260A generally concerns a substantial question of law, meaning a material legal issue warranting High Court consideration rather than a routine disagreement over facts.

Income-tax Act, 2025 and transitional proceedings

The Income-tax Act, 2025 took effect on 1 April 2026. The official section-mapping document classifies former Section 258 as redundant; it does not identify a direct successor provision. The new Act provides a High Court appeal framework in Section 365, corresponding to former Section 260A. The availability of any legacy procedure for a pending or older case must be assessed against the applicable repeal-and-savings provisions, including Section 536 of the 2025 Act, and the procedural history of that case.

Accordingly, Section 258 should not be cited as the routine procedure for initiating a fresh High Court appeal in 2026. Whether an existing reference proceeding can continue is a case-specific transitional question.

Frequently asked questions

What was the purpose of Section 258?

It enabled the High Court or Supreme Court to obtain an adequate statement of case from the Appellate Tribunal before deciding a referred question of law.

Could a taxpayer use Section 258 to file a new appeal?

No. Section 258 was an ancillary power within the reference procedure, not an independent appeal-filing provision.

Does Section 258 have a direct equivalent in the Income-tax Act, 2025?

No direct equivalent is identified in the Income Tax Department's official section-mapping document; it is marked redundant.

Which provision generally governs appeals to the High Court?

For the applicable legal period, consult Section 260A of the 1961 Act or Section 365 of the 2025 Act, together with transitional rules and procedural requirements.

Official legislation and reference materials

This article is general legal information. Verify the applicable legislation and court directions before relying on a procedure in a pending case.