(1) The ¹ Principal Director General or Director General or ² Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or ³ Principal Commissioner or Commissioner may, after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter, wherever it is possible to do so, and after recording his reasons for doing so, transfer any case from one or more Assessing Officers subordinate to him (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) to any other Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) also subordinate to him.
(2) Where the Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers from whom the case is to be transferred and the Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers to whom the case is to be transferred are not subordinate to the same ¹ Principal Director General or Director General or ² Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or ³ Principal Commissioner or Commissioner,—
(a) where the ¹ Principal Director General or Director General or ² Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or ³ Principal Commissioner or Commissioner to whom such Assessing Officers are subordinate are in agreement, then the ⁴ Principal Director General or Director General or ⁵ Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or ⁶ Principal Commissioner or Commissioner from whose jurisdiction the case is to be transferred may, after giving the assessee a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter, wherever it is possible to do so, and after recording his reasons for doing so, pass the order;
(b) where the ⁴ Principal Directors General or Directors General or ⁵ Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or ⁶ Principal Commissioner or Commissioner aforesaid are not in agreement, the order transferring the case may, similarly, be passed by the Board or any such ⁴ Principal Director General or Director General or ⁵ Principal Chief Commissioner or Chief Commissioner or ⁶ Principal Commissioner or Commissioner as the Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, authorise in this behalf.
(3) Nothing in sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be deemed to require any such opportunity to be given where the transfer is from any Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) to any other Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers (whether with or without concurrent jurisdiction) and the offices of all such officers are situated in the same city, locality or place.
(4) The transfer of a case under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) may be made at any stage of the proceedings, and shall not render necessary the re-issue of any notice already issued by the Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers from whom the case is transferred.
Explanation.—In section 120 and this section, the word “case”, in relation to any person whose name is specified in any order or direction issued thereunder, means all proceedings under this Act in respect of any year which may be pending on the date of such order or direction or which may have been completed on or before such date, and includes also all proceedings under this Act which may be commenced after the date of such order or direction in respect of any year.