Income-tax Act, 1961 · Chapter XV: Liability in Special Cases · B.—Representative assesses – General provisions
Section 161: Liability of representative assessee
The Income-tax Act, 1961 was repealed by the Income-tax Act, 2025 from 1 April 2026. The text is kept here because the judgments below apply it.
In plain words
A representative assessee, such as a guardian, trustee or agent, has the same duties and liabilities as the person they represent for the income they handle. They are assessed in their own name, but only in their representative capacity.
- Tax is recovered from them in the same way and to the same extent as from the person represented.
- Where income includes business profits of certain trusts, tax is charged at the maximum marginal rate, with an exception for a single trust declared by will for a dependent relative.
- Income assessed in a representative capacity cannot also be assessed under another provision.
A simplified explanation, prepared with AI assistance from the official text below and checked automatically against it for numbers and cross-references. The official text is the law and prevails over this summary. Not legal advice.
Official text
(1) Every representative assessee, as regards the income in respect of which he is a representative assessee, shall be subject to the same duties, responsibilities and liabilities as if the income were income received by or accruing to or in favour of him beneficially, and shall be liable to assessment in his own name in respect of that income; but any such assessment shall be deemed to be made upon him in his representative capacity only, and the tax shall, subject to the other provisions contained in this Chapter, be levied upon and recovered from him in like manner and to the same extent as it would be leviable upon and recoverable from the person represented by him. [(1A) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where any income in respect of which the person mentioned in clause (iv) of sub-section (1) of section 160 is liable as representative assessee consists of, or includes, profits and gains of business, tax shall be charged on the whole of the income in respect of which such person is so liable at the maximum marginal rate:
Provided that the provisions of this sub-section shall not apply where such profits and gains are receivable under a trust declared by any person by will exclusively for the benefit of any relative dependent on him for support and maintenance, and such trust is the only trust so declared by him. * * * * *]
(2) Where any person is, in respect of any income, assessable under this Chapter in the capacity of a representative assessee, he shall not, in respect of that income, be assessed under any other provision of this Act.
Source: India Code (Legislative Department), the text of the Act as it stood before its repeal. Words in square brackets [ ] were inserted or substituted by later amending Acts, and *** marks words omitted by an amendment. The amendment footnotes are not reproduced here. Official text on India Code.
Supreme Court judgments citing the section 161
- K.R. Patel (Dead) Through L.Rs. v. Commissioner of Income Tax
- M/S. Meera and Comp Any, Ludhiana Etc. v. Commissioner of Income Tax, Punjab, J&K and Chandigarh Patiala
- Mrs. Arundhati Balkrishna v. Commissioner of Income Tax
- Commissioner of Income-Tax, Andhra Pradesh Hyderabad v. Toshoku Ltd. Guntur Etc.
- Commissioner of Wealth Tax, Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad v. Trustees of H.E.H. Nizams Family (Remainder Wealth Trust), Hyderabad
- C. R. Nagappa v. The Commissioner of Income-Tax, Mysore