Form 35 has been replaced by Form 99 from 1 April 2026. Here is the full first appeal process: who to appeal to, the deadline, the fee, the documents, and how the faceless hearing works.
If you are searching for Form 35, start here: that form no longer exists.
From 1 April 2026, the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026 replaced it. The first appeal to the Joint Commissioner (Appeals) or the Commissioner (Appeals) is now filed in Form 99 under Rule 167. Form 36 for the Tribunal became Form 115, and cross-objections moved to Form 116.
The process itself has not changed much. You still get thirty days, you still file electronically, and the hearing is still faceless. But the form number, the section references and the rule references have all moved, and an appeal filed on the wrong form is an appeal that gets treated as defective.
This guide walks through the whole thing.
Two forums sit at the first appeal stage, and the split is by size.
The Joint Commissioner (Appeals) handles smaller matters, with appealable orders listed in Section 356. The Commissioner (Appeals) handles larger ones under Section 357. Both use the same Form 99, and the portal routes your appeal based on the case.
The right of appeal and the procedure are governed by Section 358, which also carries forward the faceless appeal framework.
Thirty days. Where the appeal relates to an assessment or a penalty, the clock runs from the date the notice of demand is served. In other cases it runs from the date the order itself is served.
Note the word served, not the date printed on the order. If the order sat on the portal for a fortnight before anyone saw it, the date of service is what matters and it is worth recording carefully.
Late appeals can be admitted where you show sufficient cause. Hospitalisation, a natural calamity, postal delay and a consultant who never passed the order on are all accepted grounds, but condonation is discretionary and documented reasons work far better than adjectives.
There is no statutory pre-deposit to file a first income tax appeal. That is a GST rule, not an income tax one, and the confusion costs people money.
The filing fee is slab based on assessed total income, historically ₹250 where assessed income is up to ₹1 lakh, ₹500 between ₹1 lakh and ₹2 lakh, and ₹1,000 above ₹2 lakh, with a nominal fee for appeals not linked to assessed income. Confirm the current slab before you pay and keep the challan.
The 20% figure you may have been told about is about stay of demand, not filing. Filing the appeal does not stop recovery, so if the demand is material you need a separate stay application under Section 340(6) alongside it. We cover that in detail in our guide on how to get a stay of demand.
Where you filed a return, the tax due on the returned income must have been paid before the appeal is admitted. This trips up companies that filed a return but never cleared the self-assessment tax. Sort that first, because no amount of drafting fixes it.
Form 99 is a wrapper. The substance sits in three attachments, and most appeals are won or lost here.
The Statement of Facts. A chronological, neutral account of what happened. Return filed, notice issued, submissions made, order passed. Reference every document by annexure number. Keep argument out of it.
The Grounds of Appeal. Specific, numbered, issue by issue. "The order is bad in law" is worthless. "The Assessing Officer erred in disallowing ₹X under Section Y, having failed to consider the invoices at Annexure 3" is a ground. Draft these carefully, because changing them later needs the appellate authority's leave.
The evidence. Indexed, paginated, and cross-referenced to your Statement of Facts. Additional evidence not filed before the AO is subject to the usual restrictions, so make the case for admitting it expressly rather than slipping it in.
Your appeal goes into the faceless system. There is no physical hearing and no personal appearance. Notices arrive on the portal, and you respond with written submissions and documents.
That changes how you should work. Everything is decided on paper, so a well-organised submission with a clear index does more than eloquence would in a hearing room. Respond within the time given in each notice, and never let a notice lapse unanswered.
Also know that the CIT(A) has the power to enhance an assessment, not just confirm or delete it. That is rare, but it means a weak appeal on a marginal point carries a small tail risk worth discussing before you file.
Three situations where something else fits better.
Where the order contains an obvious arithmetical or clerical error rather than a genuine dispute, rectification is faster and cheaper.
Where the order was passed without a hearing, or by an officer without jurisdiction, the defect may justify a writ petition. The trade-offs are set out in our note on writ versus appeal in tax litigation.
Where you have missed the window by a long way, revision before the Commissioner under Section 377 or 378 gives you up to a year from the date of the order.
If the first appeal fails, the next stop is the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, filed in Form 115 under Section 362, within two months from the end of the month in which the order is communicated. The Tribunal is the last authority that will examine facts, so your factual record has to be complete by then. Our guide on filing an ITAT appeal covers the mechanics.
DSRV and Co LLP drafts grounds of appeal and statements of facts that hold up under faceless scrutiny, files Form 99 and the accompanying stay application together, and takes matters through to the Tribunal where required. As one of the established chartered accountant firms in Gurgaon, we have spent more than 30 years on income tax litigation.
Come to us before the thirty days run, not after.
No. From 1 April 2026 the first appeal is filed in Form 99 under Rule 167 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
No. There is no statutory pre-deposit for an income tax first appeal. The 20% relates to obtaining a stay of recovery, which is a separate application.
No. First appeals are decided under the faceless system through written submissions on the portal.
Only with the appellate authority's leave. Draft them properly at the outset.
File anyway, with a condonation petition supported by evidence of sufficient cause. Do not simply wait.
It depends on the size and nature of the matter. Both use Form 99, and the appeal is routed accordingly.
Send us the assessment order and the demand notice. We will draft the grounds, prepare the statement of facts, and file the stay application alongside the appeal so recovery does not start while you wait. Book a free 15-minute first appeal review with DSRV India.
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