Sections 30-31 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Once a notice of demand is served, the Act sets a payment period, allows the Assessing Officer to shorten or extend it, says when an assessee is in default and gives the Assessing Officer and the Tax Recovery Officer their recovery powers. Section 30 deals with the Assessing Officer's stage. Section 31 deals with the Tax Recovery Officer and the certificate on which he works. The text is from the Act as enacted and published in the Gazette of India on 27 May 2015.
Any amount in a notice of demand under section 13 is to be paid within thirty days of service, as enacted. The Assessing Officer may reduce the period with the Joint Commissioner's previous approval, or extend it or allow instalments on the assessee's application. If the tax arrear is not paid in time, the assessee is deemed to be in default. The Tax Recovery Officer can then draw up a certificate and recover the amount by the modes the Act names.
Section 30(1) to (3): thirty days, reduction and extension
Section 30(1) says any amount specified as payable in a notice of demand under section 13 shall be paid within a period of thirty days of the service of the notice, to the credit of the Central Government, in such manner as may be prescribed. The notice of demand is the one covered in our article on sections 12 to 14.
Section 30(2) allows the Assessing Officer to reduce the period if he has reason to believe that it will be detrimental to the interests of revenue if the thirty days are allowed. He may, "with the previous approval of the Joint Commissioner", reduce the period as he deems fit.
Section 30(3) allows the Assessing Officer, "on an application made by the assessee", before the expiry of the thirty days or the reduced period, or during the pendency of an appeal with the Commissioner (Appeals), to extend the time for payment or allow payment by instalments, subject to such conditions as he thinks fit.
| Sub-section | Who acts | What can happen |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | The assessee | Pays within thirty days of service of the notice of demand |
| (2) | The Assessing Officer, with the Joint Commissioner's previous approval | Reduces the period if delay is believed to be detrimental to revenue |
| (3) | The Assessing Officer, on the assessee's application | Extends time or allows instalments, on conditions, before the period ends or during a Commissioner (Appeals) appeal |
The practical point is that an extension or instalment arrangement must be applied for. The application can be made before the thirty days, or the reduced period, expire, or while an appeal is pending before the Commissioner (Appeals). If you cannot meet the demand in full, a legal dispute resolution adviser can help you make the application on a footing the Assessing Officer can accept.
Section 30(4) and (5): when the assessee is in default
Section 30(4) says an assessee shall be deemed to be an assessee in default if the tax arrear is not paid within the time allowed under sub-section (1), or the period reduced under sub-section (2), or extended under sub-section (3), as the case may be.
Section 30(5) is about instalments. Where an assessee defaults in paying any one of the instalments within the time fixed under sub-section (3), he shall be deemed to be an assessee in default in respect of the whole of the then outstanding amount. So one missed instalment makes the entire balance recoverable.
Section 30(6) and (7): who recovers
Section 30(6) says the Assessing Officer may, in a case where no certificate has been drawn up under section 31 by the Tax Recovery Officer, recover the amount in respect of which the assessee is in default, or is deemed to be in default, by any one or more of the modes provided in section 32. Section 30(7) says the Tax Recovery Officer shall be vested with the powers to recover the tax arrear on drawing up of a statement of tax arrear under section 31.
The two officers therefore do not work at the same time on the same arrear by the same route: the Assessing Officer's power under sub-section (6) is for a case where no certificate has been drawn up. The modes themselves are the subject of section 32.
Section 31: the Tax Recovery Officer and the certificate
Section 31(1) says the Tax Recovery Officer may draw up under his signature a statement of tax arrears of an assessee referred to in section 30(4) or (5), in such form as may be prescribed. The statement is called a "certificate" in the Chapter. The Rules of 2015, as notified on 2 July 2015, say in rule 8 that a statement of tax arrears under section 31 or section 33 is drawn up by the Tax Recovery Officer in Form 5; our article on rules 4 to 8 and Forms 1 to 5 takes it further.
| Sub-section | What it provides |
|---|---|
| (2) | The certificate stands amended from time to time consequent to any proceeding under the Act, and the officer recovers the amount as modified |
| (3) | The Tax Recovery Officer may rectify any mistake apparent from the record |
| (4) | He has the power to extend the time for payment or allow instalments, on conditions |
| (5) | He proceeds to recover the amount in the certificate by one or more of the modes in section 32 or in the Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act |
| (6) | The assessee may not dispute the correctness of a certificate on any ground whatsoever, but the Tax Recovery Officer may cancel it if he thinks it necessary for any reason |
Sub-section (6) is the one to note. The assessee cannot challenge the correctness of the certificate "on any ground whatsoever" before the Tax Recovery Officer. The challenge is to the assessment or demand itself, through the appeals described in our earlier articles, and the Tax Recovery Officer's power to cancel the certificate "for any reason" is left to him. The Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act is named as printed; this article does not describe it.
A Tax Recovery Officer who cannot recover in one area can pass the certificate on to another Tax Recovery Officer under section 33, which is covered in our article on sections 33 and 37 to 39.
An example
A notice of demand is served on Manish Gupta on 1 March for a sum assessed under the Act. He has thirty days from service to pay. On 15 March he applies to the Assessing Officer for payment in three instalments. The Assessing Officer allows it on conditions. Manish pays the first two instalments on time but misses the third. Under section 30(5), he is deemed to be an assessee in default for the whole of the then outstanding amount. The Tax Recovery Officer draws up a certificate in Form 5 under section 31(1), and Manish cannot dispute its correctness under section 31(6).
Need help with a demand you cannot pay in time?
A demand on a foreign-asset assessment can be large, and the Act gives you routes to ask for time before default sets in. Our legal dispute resolution team can help you prepare the application for extension or instalments and keep it consistent with any appeal.
Key takeaways
- A notice of demand amount is payable within thirty days of service, as enacted.
- The Assessing Officer can reduce the period with the Joint Commissioner's previous approval, and can extend or allow instalments on the assessee's application.
- Failure to pay in time makes the assessee an assessee in default; missing one instalment makes the whole outstanding amount due.
- The Tax Recovery Officer draws up a certificate in the prescribed form; the Rules of 2015 prescribe Form 5.
- The assessee cannot dispute the correctness of the certificate on any ground.
- Later Finance Act amendments to sections 30 and 31, and any amendment rules, must be checked before acting. The Second Schedule to the Income-tax Act, 1961 is named as printed in 2015; check the corresponding provision of the current income-tax law.
Read next
- Sections 12-14: rectification, notice of demand and direct assessment
- Section 32: modes of recovery of tax dues
- Sections 25-29: tax payable pending appeal and departmental appeals
- Rule 226 of the Income-tax Rules, 2026: the Tax Recovery Officer under income-tax law
Disclaimer: Based on the Black Money (Undisclosed Foreign Income and Assets) and Imposition of Tax Act, 2015 as enacted and published in the Gazette of India on 27 May 2015, and on the Rules of 2015 as notified on 2 July 2015, as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later Finance Act amendments, amendment rules and the current income-tax law should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.