Appearance by authorized representative

(1) Any taxpayer who is entitled or required to attend before the Commissioner, the Commissioner (Appeals) or the Appellate Tribunal in connection with any proceeding under this Ordinance may, except when required under section 176 to attend personally, attend by an authorised representative.
(2) For the purposes of this section and subject to sub-section (3), an authorised representative of a taxpayer shall be a person who is a representative of the person under section 172 and any of the following persons, namely:–
(a) A relative of the taxpayer;
(b) a current full-time employee of the taxpayer;
(c) any officer of a scheduled bank with which the taxpayer maintains a current account or has other regular dealings;
(d) any legal practitioner entitled to practice in any Civil Court in Pakistan;
(e) any accountant; or (f) any income tax practitioner.
(3) For the purposes of this section —
(a) no person who has been dismissed or removed from service in the Income Tax Department shall be entitled to represent a taxpayer under sub-section (1);
(b) no person having resigned from service after having been employed in the Income Tax Department for not less than two years shall be entitled to represent a taxpayer under sub-section (1) for a period of two years from the date of resignation;
(c) no person having retired from service in the Income Tax Department shall be entitled to represent a taxpayer under sub- section (1) for a period of one year from the date of retirement in any case in which the person had made or approved, as the case may be, any order of assessment, refund or appeal within one year before the date of retirement; or (d) no person who has become insolvent shall be entitled to represent a taxpayer under sub-section (1) for so long as the insolvency continues;
(e) no person who has been convicted of an offence in relation to any income tax proceedings under this Ordinance shall be entitled to represent a taxpayer under sub-section (1) for such period as the Commissioner may, by order in writing, determine.
(4) Where any legal practitioner or accountant is found guilty of misconduct in a professional capacity by any authority entitled to take disciplinary action against the legal practitioner or accountant, an order passed by that authority shall have effect in relation to any right to represent a taxpayer under sub-section (1) as it has in relation to the person’s right to practice as a legal practitioner or accountant.
(5) Where any person (other than a person to whom sub-section (4) applies) is found guilty of misconduct in relation to any income tax proceeding, the Commissioner may, by an order in writing, direct that the person cease to represent a taxpayer under sub-section (1) before the Commissioner, Commissioner (Appeals) or Appellate Tribunal.
(6) The Commissioner shall not make an order under clause (e) of sub- section (3) or sub-section (5) in respect of any person, unless the Commissioner has given the person a reasonable opportunity to be heard.
(7) Any person against whom an order under clause (e) of sub-section (3) or sub-section (5) has been made may, within thirty days of service of notice of the order, appeal to the Board to have the order cancelled.
(8) The Board may admit an appeal after the expiration of the period specified in sub-section (7) if satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from lodging the appeal within the period.
(9) No order made under clause (e) of sub-section (3) or sub-section (5) shall take effect until thirty days after notice of the order is served on the person or, where an appeal has been lodged under sub-section (7), until the disposal of the appeal.
(10) The Board may make rules under section 237 for the registration of income tax practitioners and related matters, including establishing a code of conduct for such practitioners.
(11) In this section – accountant means –
(a) a chartered accountant within the meaning of the Chartered Accountants Ordinance, 1961 (X of 1961);
(b) a cost and management accountant within the meaning of the Cost and Management Accountants Act, 1966 (XIV of 1966); or (c) a member of any association of accountants recognised for the purposes of this section by the Board ; and income tax practitioner means a person who is registered as such by the Board , being a person who possesses such qualifications as may be prescribed for the purposes of this section or who has retired after putting in satisfactory service in the Income Tax Department for a period of not less than ten years in a post or posts not below that of Income Tax Officer.