ITR

Appeal pending with stay: stopping a refund set-off

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A demand properly stayed under appeal should not be recovered by adjusting your refund. You need to tell CPC that an appeal is pending and that a stay is granted or that 20% has been paid.

Provisions

Sec 245, Income-tax Act 1961 (now Sec 438, Income-tax Act 2025); Sec 246A, Income-tax Act 1961 (now Sec 357, Income-tax Act 2025); CBDT Office Memorandum dated 31 July 2017 (stay of demand on 20% payment)

Analysis

In the response, pick Disagree and select the reason that an appeal is filed with stay granted, or appeal filed with stay petition. Give the appeal number, date and stay details. Example: demand ₹2,00,000, you paid ₹40,000 under the 20% rule and asked for a stay. Adjusting your ₹50,000 refund against the balance would defeat the stay, so the response should ask that the refund be released. The officer confirms the status before CPC acts.

Close

  1. Keep the Form 35 (now Form 99) acknowledgement and appeal number ready
  2. Get the stay order, or proof of the 20% payment and stay request
  3. Respond: Disagree, reason appeal pending with stay
  4. Write to the jurisdictional officer if the stay is not yet recorded
  5. Check the demand status after a few weeks

Without a stay application, a pending appeal alone may not stop the adjustment.

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