Income Tax Appeal Pending at NFAC: Push for a Decision 2026

Can you force a decision on an income tax appeal that has been stuck for years at the CIT Appeals or the National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC)? Honestly, no single button forces it, and there is no automatic deadline you can enforce. But you do have a clear escalation ladder, from a free online grievance up to a writ in the High Court, and it does move files.

Work through these rungs in order. Each rung tells you what it does and when to climb to the next one.

1. Rung 1 - Grievance on e-Nivaran and CPGRAMS. File a free online grievance on the e-Nivaran tab of the income tax e-filing portal at https://www.incometax.gov.in and, at the same time, on the Central grievance portal CPGRAMS at https://pgportal.gov.in. This puts your delay on the official record and often nudges the office. Escalate when you get no useful reply in about 30 days.
2. Rung 2 - Written early-hearing request. Send a plain written request for an early hearing to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) handling your case and to the NFAC, and copy the jurisdictional Principal Chief Commissioner of Income Tax. Give your appeal number, the years it has been pending, and any hardship. Escalate when there is no hearing notice within 4 to 6 weeks.
3. Rung 3 - RTI for status and reasons. File an RTI application asking for the current status of your appeal, the date it was allotted to an appeal unit, the likely hearing date, and the reason for the delay. The Income Tax Department is a public authority and must answer within 30 days. Escalate when the reply shows no timeline or leaves the delay unexplained.
4. Rung 4 - Writ of mandamus in the High Court. As a last resort, file a writ petition in the High Court seeking a writ of mandamus that directs the CIT Appeals or NFAC to decide your long pending appeal within a fixed time. Use this when the appeal has been pending for years and the softer rungs have failed.

Your first appeal, against an assessment or penalty order, lies with the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) or JCIT (Appeals). Since the Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2021, most of these first appeals are run electronically through the National Faceless Appeal Centre. The Central Board of Direct Taxes set up the NFAC through Notification No. 139 of 2021 dated 28 December 2021. After you file Form 35, the case is allotted automatically to an appeal unit, and the Commissioner (Appeals) issues the hearing notice under section 250 through the NFAC.

The problem is volume. More than 5 lakh first appeals have been reported as pending before the CIT Appeals and NFAC in 2024 and 2025, and an RTI reply put the figure at 3,61,748 pending before the first appellate authority as on 1 January 2024. Some appeals have waited more than five years for a hearing. Old appeals filed before the faceless scheme move especially slowly.

This delay is not just an annoyance. To get a stay on the tax demand while your appeal is heard, you may have had to deposit part of the disputed demand. A long wait therefore locks up your money for years. That is why it is worth pushing.

If you are still preparing your first appeal, see our step by step guide at https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-appeal-cit-appeals-section-246a-form-35-india before you read on.

Here is the honest position. Section 250(6A) of the Income-tax Act says that in every appeal, where it is possible, the Commissioner (Appeals) may hear and decide the appeal within one year from the end of the financial year in which the appeal is filed.

Read those three words again: where it is possible. This makes the one year a best-effort, directory target, not a hard deadline you can enforce. If the office misses it, your appeal is not automatically allowed, and a later order is not void just because more than a year has passed. So you cannot win by simply pointing at the clock.

What you can do is build pressure and a paper trail through the ladder above. One useful right does exist: under the faceless scheme you can ask for a personal hearing by video conference, and the Commissioner (Appeals) must grant that request. Asking for a video hearing is a fair, low-cost way to get your file looked at.

This is a genuine, strong use of the RTI Act, 2005. The Income Tax Department is a public authority, so you can ask it, in writing, why your appeal is sitting idle. In fact, the pendency numbers above were themselves prised out through an RTI reply, which shows the tool works.

Address the RTI application to the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) of the Income Tax Department office holding your file, or the NFAC, with the ₹10 fee in the prescribed mode. Ask clear, factual questions such as:

• The current status of my appeal number [your number] for assessment year [year].
• The date on which my appeal was allotted to an appeal unit.
• The likely date of hearing, if any date has been fixed.
• The reasons for the delay in deciding my appeal.
• The number of appeals pending before the concerned appeal unit.

The department must reply within 30 days. If it does not reply, or gives an evasive answer, file a first appeal under the RTI Act with the First Appellate Authority. A dated RTI reply that admits the appeal is pending with no hearing date is exactly the written proof you need for the next rung.

If years pass and nothing works, the strongest rung is a writ petition in the High Court asking for a writ of mandamus. This is a court order directing a public authority to do its legal duty, here to decide your long pending appeal.

High Courts have, in general, directed the CIT Appeals or NFAC to dispose of very old, unexplained appeals within a fixed period, often a few weeks or months. Note the limit: the court usually orders a time-bound decision, not that you win the appeal. You will normally need a lawyer, and courts act when the delay is long, the reasons are missing, and you have already tried the softer steps. This is why your e-Nivaran, CPGRAMS, and RTI records matter so much: they prove you tried.

Once the appeal is finally decided, if you disagree with the order, the next stage is the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. See our guide at https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-appellate-tribunal-itat-appeal-section-253-india

No. Section 250(6A) sets a one year target from the end of the financial year of filing, but only where it is possible. It is directory, not a hard deadline, so an order passed after a year is still valid and you cannot get your appeal allowed just because time has passed.

Start on the softest rung. File a grievance on e-Nivaran and on CPGRAMS, then send a written early-hearing request to the Commissioner (Appeals) and NFAC. Keep dated copies. If there is still no movement in about a month, move up to an RTI application.

Yes, in two ways. It forces the department to state your status and the reason for delay within 30 days, and it gives you dated, written proof of the delay. That proof is the backbone of any later grievance escalation or High Court writ.

More than 5 lakh first appeals have been reported as pending before the CIT Appeals and NFAC in 2024 and 2025. An RTI reply showed 3,61,748 appeals pending before the first appellate authority as on 1 January 2024, some for more than five years.

Yes. Under the Faceless Appeal Scheme, 2021, you can request a personal hearing through video conferencing, and the Commissioner (Appeals) must grant it. Asking for a video hearing is a simple way to get your file actively looked at.

When the delay runs into years, is unexplained, and the grievance and RTI rungs have failed. Courts can order a time-bound decision, but a writ costs money and usually needs a lawyer, so treat it as a genuine last resort.

No. A grievance or RTI only asks for status and reasons, which are your legal rights. The appeal is decided on the merits and the record, not on whether you asked about delay. Stay polite and factual and you have nothing to fear.

You receive the appellate order. If it goes against you, you can appeal further to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under section 253, usually within 60 days. Read more at https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-appellate-tribunal-itat-appeal-section-253-india

• Faceless Appeal Scheme and NFAC, Income Tax Department: https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/faceless-scheme
• Section 250, Income-tax Act, Income Tax Department: https://www.incometaxindia.gov.in/w/section-250-60
• Submit grievance and e-Nivaran user help, Income Tax Department: https://www.incometax.gov.in/iec/foportal/help/all-topics/e-filing-services/submit-grievance
• CPGRAMS grievance portal: https://pgportal.gov.in
• Pendency of appeals before CIT Appeals and NFAC, TaxGuru: https://taxguru.in/income-tax/pendency-549042-appeals-cita-nfac-request-early-disposal.html
• Income tax appeals pending, CIT(A) figures in RTI reply, TaxGuru: https://taxguru.in/income-tax/income-tax-appeals-pending-cit-a-rti-reply-2024.html

• How to file a CPGRAMS grievance: https://righttoinformation.wiki/file-cpgrams-grievance-2026
• How to file a first appeal to the CIT Appeals under section 246A: https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-appeal-cit-appeals-section-246a-form-35-india
• Appeal to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal under section 253: https://righttoinformation.wiki/income-tax-appellate-tribunal-itat-appeal-section-253-india
• The RTI Playbook