This common judgment decides the appeals filed by staff unions and officers’ associations of various banks, impugning judgments which dismiss their writ petitions, where the vires of Section 17(2)(viii) of the Income Tax Act, 1961¹[For short, “Act”.] or Rule 3(7)(i) of the Income Tax Rules, 1962²[For short, “Rules”.], or both, were challenged.

2. Section 17(2)(viii) of the Act includes in the definition of ‘perquisites’³[Section 17(2) of the Act defines perquisites. It specifies a list of benefits/advantages, incidental to employment, and received in excess of salary, which are made taxable as perquisites. Section 17(2)(viii) is a residuary clause that authorizes a subordinate rule-making authority to prescribe ‘any other fringe benefits or amenities’ that are liable to taxation as ‘perquisites’.], ‘any other fringe benefit or amenity’, ‘as may be prescribed’.⁴[Before amendments brought in by Finance (No.2) Act, 2009, with effect from 01.04.2010, Section 17(2)(vi) of the Act read: “(vi) the value of any other fringe benefit or amenity (excluding the fringe benefits chargeable to tax under Chapter XIIH) as may be prescribed”. Post the amendment, Section 17(2)(viii), in effect contain