3. There shall be the following classes of income-tax authorities for the purposes of this Ordinance, namely:- (1) The National Board of Revenue, ¹[* * *] ²[(IB) Chief Commissioner of Taxes; ] ³[(2) Directors-General of Inspection (Taxes),] ⁴[(2A) Commissioner of Taxes (Appeals),] ⁵[(2B) Commissioner of Taxes (Large Taxpayer Unit),] ⁶[(2C) Director General (Training),] ⁷[(2D) Director General, Central Intelligence Cell,] (3) Commissioners of Taxes, ⁸[(3A) Additional Commissioners of Taxes who may be either Appellate Additional Commissioners of Taxes or Inspecting Additional Commissioners of Taxes,] (4) Joint Commissioner of Taxes who may be either Appellate Joint Commissioner of Taxes or Inspecting Joint Commissioner of Taxes, (5) Deputy Commissioners of Taxes, ⁹[(6) Tax Recovery Officers nominated by the Commissioner of Taxes among the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes within his jurisdiction;] (7) Assistant Commissioners of Taxes, (8) Extra Assistant Commissioners of Taxes, and (9) Inspectors of Taxes.

4. (1) Subject to the rules and orders of the Government regulating the terms and conditions of service of persons in public services and posts, appointment of income-tax authorities shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance. (2) The Board may appoint ¹⁰[¹¹[Chief Commissioner of Taxes, Director General], Central Intelligence Cell,]¹²[ * * *] as many ¹³[ Directors-General of Inspection], ¹⁴[ Commissioners (Appeals),] Commissioners, Joint Commissioners of Taxes, Deputy Commissioners of Taxes, Tax Recovery Officers and Assistant Commissioners of Taxes and such other executive or ministerial officers and staff as it may think fit. ¹⁵[(2A) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Ordinance, the Board may, with the approval of the Government, appoint one or more person having appropriate professional skill and experience to perform such function as may be specified by an order issued in this behalf, and the person or persons so appointed shall be deemed to be an income-tax authority for the purposes of this Ordinance.] (3) Subject to such orders or instructions as the Board may, from time to time, issue in this behalf, any other income-tax authority may appoint any income-tax authority subordinate thereto and such other executive or ministerial officers and staff as may be necessary for assistance in the execution of its functions.

¹⁶[4A. The Board may, by notification in the official Gazette, and subject to such limitations or conditions, if any, as may be specified therein, empower by name or designation,-(a) any Inspecting Additional Commissioner of Taxes to exercise the powers of a Commissioner of Taxes ¹⁷[;](b) any Appellate Additional Commissioner of Taxes to exercise the powers of a Commissioner of Taxes (Appeal) ¹⁸[; and(c) any Additional Director General or Joint Director General of Central Intelligence Cell to exercise the powers of Director General, Central Intelligence Cell.]

5. ¹⁹[(1) The ²⁰[* * *] ²¹[Chief Commissioner of Taxes, Director General] of Inspection, Commissioners (Appeals), and Commissioners shall be subordinate to the Board.] (2) The ²²[Additional Commissioners of Taxes, Joint Commissioners of Taxes], Deputy Commissioners of Taxes and Inspectors shall be subordinate to the Commissioners ²³[or the Commissioner (Appeals), as the case may be,] within whose jurisdiction they are appointed to perform their function: Provided that no order, direction or instruction shall be given so as to interfere with the discretion of the Appellate Joint Commissioners ²⁴[or the Commissioners (Appeals)] in the exercise of their appellate functions. (3) The Deputy Commissioners of Taxes and Inspectors shall be subordinate to the Inspecting Joint Commissioner within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions. (4) The Inspectors shall be subordinate to the Deputy Commissioners of Taxes within whose jurisdiction they perform their functions.

6. (1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance,- ²⁵[* * *] ²⁶[(aa) the Directors-General of Inspection shall perform the following functions, namely:- (i) carry out inspection of income tax cases; (ii) investigate or cause investigation to be carried out in respect of cases involving leakage of revenue or evasion of taxes; (iii) carry out audit of cases or offices involving income tax revenues only; (iv) furnish annual report about the working of income tax offices dealing with revenue matters to the Board by the thirty first day of December following the end of the financial year to which it relates; and (v) such other functions as may be assigned to them by the Board;] ²⁷[(aaa) the Director General of Central Intelligence Cell shall perform the following functions, namely:-(i) carry out intelligence works to gather information about taxpayers;(ii) analyse information gathered through intelligence work vis-a-vis concerned income tax records;(iii) detect tax evasions, concealments of income and offences as described in chapter XXI of Income Tax Ordinance, 1984;(iv) carry out investigations to prove tax evasion or concealment or any other irregularities relating to taxes and to collect evidences in support of tax offences or tax frauds for recovery of tax with penalty and to suggest prosecutions in fit cases;(v) to carry out functions as authorised by any other law.](b) the Commissioners ²⁸[, the Commissioners (Appeals)] and the Appellate Joint Commissioners shall perform their functions in respect of such areas, or such persons or classes of persons, or such cases or classes of cases, or such incomes or classes of incomes, as the Board may assign to them; ²⁹[(bb) the Commissioner (Large Taxpayer Unit) shall perform his functions in respect of such areas, or such persons or classes of persons, or such cases or classes of cases or such incomes or classes of incomes, as the Board may assign to him;] (c) the Inspecting Joint Commissioners and the Deputy Commissioners of Taxes shall perform their functions in respect of such areas, or such persons or classes of persons, or such cases or classes of cases, or such incomes or classes of incomes as the Commissioner to whom they are subordinate may assign to them; and (d) other income-tax authorities shall perform such functions as may be assigned to them by the income-tax authority to whom they are subordinate. (2) (a) Any area or other jurisdiction or function assigned to an income-tax authority under sub-section (1) may be modified or varied, or may be transferred to any other income-tax authority with respect to areas, persons or classes of persons, or cases or classes of cases, or proceeding or classes of proceedings; (b) any such transfer as is referred to in clause (a) may be made at any stage of the proceedings and further proceedings may be commenced from the stage at which such transfer takes place. (3) Where more income-tax authorities than one have been assigned the same functions in respect of any area, or persons or classes of persons, or cases or classes of cases, or incomes or classes of incomes, they shall perform those functions in accordance with such allocation or distribution of work as the authority assigning the functions may make. (4) The powers of the Board, Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners of Taxes, to assign any case to any authority, or to transfer any case from one authority to another, or to perform any function or functions under this section, shall include the power in respect of all or any proceedings relating to such case; and except as provided in sub-section (5), no such assignment, transfer or performance of functions shall be called in question by or before any court or other authority. (5) Any person aggrieved by any order passed under this section may, within thirty days of such order, make a representation- (a) to the Inspecting Joint Commissioner if the order was passed by a Deputy Commissioner of Taxes; (b) to the Commissioner the Commissioners (Appeals) if the order was passed by an Inspecting Joint Commissioner; and (c) to the Board if the order was passed by a Commissioner; and any order passed on such representation shall be final.

7. Where, in respect of any proceeding under this Ordinance, an income-tax authority is succeeded by another, the income-tax authority so succeeding may continue the proceeding from the stage at which it was left by his predecessor.

8. All officers and other persons engaged in the performance of any functions under this Ordinance shall, in the matter of discharging those functions, observe and follow such orders, directions or instructions as the Board may issue from time to time: Provided that no order, direction or instruction shall be given so as to interfere with the discretion of the Appellate Joint Commissioners ³⁰[or the Commissioners (Appeals)] in the exercise of their appellate functions.

9. In the course of any proceedings under this Ordinance, the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes may be assisted, guided or instructed by any income-tax authority to whom he is subordinate or any other person authorised in this behalf by the Board.

10. The Commissioner may, with prior approval of the Board, by general or a special order in writing, direct that in respect of all or any proceedings relating to specified cases or classes of cases or specified persons of classes of persons within his jurisdiction, the powers and functions of the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes, ³²[Inspecting Joint Commissioner, the Inspecting Additional Commissioner] and the Commissioner under this Ordinance shall be exercised by ³³[Inspecting Joint Commissioner, the Inspecting Additional Commissioner], the Commissioner and the Board, respectively and for the purpose of any proceedings in respect of such cases or persons reference in this Ordinance or the rules made thereunder to the Deputy Commissioner of Taxes, ³⁴[Inspecting Joint Commissioner, the Inspecting Additional Commissioner] or the Commissioner shall be deemed to be references to ³⁵[Inspecting Joint Commissioner, the Inspecting Additional Commissioner], the Commissioner and the Board, respectively.