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Appeal limitation calculator.
Enter the date an order or notice was served, and see the last date to file, the form, the fee, and the statutory basis for each — with the working shown rather than hidden.
Work out the date.
Read this before relying on it
This tool applies the ordinary statutory rule to a date you type in. It cannot know whether the order was in fact served on that date, whether service was valid, or whether anything on your facts takes the matter outside the ordinary rule. It is an aid to a professional who will check it. It is not advice, and it should never be the only thing relied on where a deadline is near.
The date that catches people out
Demand notice, not order date
For an appeal to the CIT(A) against an assessment or penalty, s.249(2)(b) runs the 30 days from service of the notice of demand — not from the date the assessment order bears, and not from the date it was uploaded. Those three dates are frequently different, and the difference has cost people their appeals.
Changed in 2024
The Tribunal now counts months
Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 replaced the 60-day rule in s.253(3) with two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated, with effect from 1 October 2024. The stated reason was that faceless appeal orders are uploaded continuously, making day-counting impractical. The 30-day period for cross-objections was left alone.
No condonation
Section 154 has no condonation power
s.154(7) bars the making of any amendment after four years from the end of the financial year in which the order sought to be amended was passed (save as provided in s.155 and s.186(4)). The limit is on the order, not on the application — so apply well inside it — and the Act contains no power to condone delay. Unlike an appeal, once it has gone, it has gone.
The transition
Which Act governs your appeal?
In short
The Income-tax Act, 2025 commenced on 1 April 2026, but section 536(2)(c) preserves the Income-tax Act, 1961 for any proceeding — expressly including appeals — in respect of a tax year beginning before that date, whether the proceeding was already pending or is initiated afterwards. An appeal filed today against an order for an earlier year is therefore governed by the 1961 Act, and by its sections, not the new numbering. CBDT’s own transition FAQs confirm that assessment year 2026-27 and earlier are 1961-Act matters. Limitation periods and fees for the routes on this page are unchanged under the new Act in any event.
This is worth stating plainly because a good deal of commentary asserts the opposite — that appeals filed from April 2026 onwards run on the new Act. That is wrong as a general proposition, and directly contrary to the savings provision.
What does change
For tax years beginning on or after 1 April 2026, the numbering moves: s.249 becomes s.358, s.253 becomes s.362, s.260A becomes s.365, s.154 becomes s.287, s.263 and s.264 become s.377 and s.378. The periods and the fee slabs are carried over unchanged.
One point that is genuinely unresolved
Section 536(2)(c) says proceedings continue under the procedure of the repealed Act, which points to Form 35 and Form 36. But the Income-tax Rules, 1962 have been replaced by the Rules, 2026, which prescribe Form 99 and Form 115 — while section 536(2)(j) keeps rules and forms made under the repealed Act in force so far as they are not inconsistent with the new one. No CBDT guidance resolving which form a 1961-Act appeal filed today should be presented on could be found. Until there is one, check what the e-filing portal actually accepts rather than assuming.
Positions stated here were verified against the Acts as amended and CBDT material in September 2026. The departmental website serves each section in dated versions; make sure the version you are reading carries the amendment you need.
Common questions
Frequently asked.
What is the time limit to file an appeal to the CIT(A)?
Thirty days, under section 249(2) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. For an assessment or penalty order the period runs from the date of service of the notice of demand; for an appeal under section 248, from the date of payment of the tax; for other orders, from the date intimation of the order is served. Time spent on an application for immunity under section 270AA, up to service of the order rejecting it, is excluded. Delay may be condoned under section 249(3) on sufficient cause, and there is no outer limit on that power.
What is the time limit to appeal to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal?
Two months from the end of the month in which the order was communicated, under section 253(3) as amended by the Finance (No. 2) Act 2024 with effect from 1 October 2024. The earlier rule was 60 days from communication; how the amendment applies to orders communicated shortly before 1 October 2024 is not settled, so take the earlier of the two dates. The Tribunal may condone delay under section 253(5) on sufficient cause.
What is the fee for filing an appeal?
Before the CIT(A), under section 249(1): ₹250 where assessed total income is up to ₹1,00,000; ₹500 where it is above ₹1,00,000 but up to ₹2,00,000; and ₹1,000 where it exceeds ₹2,00,000; and ₹250 under clause (iv) for any other matter, such as a penalty appeal. Before the Tribunal, under section 253(6): ₹500, ₹1,500, and 1% of assessed total income capped at ₹10,000 across the same bands, and ₹500 under clause (d) for any other matter. No fee is payable on a cross-objection or on a departmental appeal.
How much must be paid to get a stay of demand?
For a stay by the Assessing Officer under section 220(6) pending the first appeal, the standard figure is 20% of the disputed demand, set by the CBDT office memorandum dated 31 July 2017, which raised it from the 15% fixed in February 2016. It is an administrative norm rather than a statutory floor: the Assessing Officer may refer the matter to the Principal Commissioner for a lower or higher deposit, and a figure applied mechanically without regard to the facts is open to challenge. The separate 20% deposit for a stay by the Tribunal under section 254(2A) is statutory.
Can a delayed appeal still be filed?
Yes, with an application for condonation supported by an affidavit explaining the delay. Sections 249(3), 253(5) and 260A(2A) each permit admission on sufficient cause, with no outer limit. The exception is rectification: section 154 contains no condonation power, and no amendment can be made after the four years in section 154(7).
A date is close. What now?
If a limitation date falls within days, do not work it out from a web page. Call the office and we will look at the record with you.