Atma Bodhodaya Sangham Sree Subhananda Trust 1 V. The Income Tax Officer Exemption Ward - Alappuzha and The Principal Commissioner Income Tax Department and Centralized Processing Center and Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) National Faceless Appeal Centre and The Asst. Commissioner of Income Tax Exemption Circle

WA/2126/2023

AI Insights

The case involves Atma Bodhodaya Sangham Sree Subhananda Trust, which appealed against the judgment of a Single Judge of the High Court of Kerala. The appellant was aggrieved by the recovery steps initiated against it following an order (Ext.P3) confirming certain demands. The appellant had filed an appeal and a stay petition against this order with the Appellate Authority but faced immediate coercive recovery actions. The Single Judge directed the appellant to file a fresh application for delay condonation before the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) and did not grant a stay on the recovery proceedings. The appellant sought relief from the Division Bench, which modified the Single Judge's decision to stay the recovery proceedings pending the decision on the stay petition or appeal by the appellate authority.

• Counselvise Citation: [2023] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 797082 (HC-KERALA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 12-12-2023
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Applicant
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: JOSE JOSEPH
• Assessee Lawyers: HARISANKAR MENON; K KRISHNA; MEERA MENON; PARVATHY MENON; R SREEJITH
• Keywords: Appellate Authority; Exemption; Income Tax; Recovery proceedings; Stay Petition
• Section: 143(1)

Judgement Text

"IN THE HIGH COURT OF KERALA AT ERNAKULAM PRESENT THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR & THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE KAUSER EDAPPAGATH TUESDAY, THE 12TH DAY OF DECEMBER 2023 / 21ST AGRAHAYANA, 1945 WA NO. 2126 OF 2023 AGAINST THE JUDGMENT DATED 29.11.2023 IN WP(C) 39353/2023 OF HIGH COURT OF KERALA APPELLANT/PETITIONER: ATMA BODHODAYA SANGHAM SREE SUBHANANDA TRUST 1, CHERUKOL, MAVELIKKARA, ALAPPUZHA DISTRICT, REPRESENTED BY ITS SECRETARY, SWAMI GEETHANANDAN, PIN - 690104 BY ADVS.HARISANKAR V. MENON K.KRISHNA, MEERA V.MENON PARVATHY MENON, R.SREEJITH RESPONDENTS/RESPONDENTS: 1 THE INCOME TAX OFFICER EXEMPTION WARD - ALAPPUZHA, AAYAKAR BHAVAN, ALAPPUZHA, PIN - 688011 2 THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER INCOME TAX DEPARTMENT, C.R. BUILDING,I.S. PRESS ROAD, ERNAKULAM, KOCHI, PIN - 682018 3 CENTRALIZED PROCESSING CENTER 1ST FLOOR, BERATENAAGRAHARA BEGUR, HOSUR ROAD, UTTARAHALLIHOBLI, BENGALURU, PIN - 560100 W.A.No.2126 of 2023 -:2:- 4 COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (APPEALS) NATIONAL FACELESS APPEAL CENTRE, DELHI, PIN - 110001 5 THE ASST. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX EXEMPTION CIRCLE,AAYAKAR BHAVAN, KAWDIAR P.O.,THIRUVANANTHAPURAM, PIN – 695003 SC SRI. JOSE JOSEPH THIS WRIT APPEAL HAVING COME UP FOR ADMISSION ON 12.12.2023, THE COURT ON THE SAME DAY DELIVERED THE FOLLOWING: W.A.No.2126 of 2023 -:3:- J U D G M E N T Dr. A.K.Jayasankaran Nambiar, J. The petitioner in WP(C).No. 39353 of 2023 is the appellant herein aggrieved by the judgment dated 29.11.2023 in the Writ Petition. The brief facts necessary for disposal of this Writ Appeal are as follows: 2. The appellant had impugned Ext.P3 order before this Court in the writ petition when confronted with recovery steps for recovery of the amounts confirmed against it by the order. It was the case of the appellant that against Ext.P3 order, it has preferred Ext.P4 appeal along with Ext.P5 stay petition for the assessment year 2022-23 under the Income Tax Act before the 4th respondent, the Appellate Authority. In the meantime, coercive steps were taken for realisation of the demands. Therefore, the appellant preferred WP(C) No.39353/2023 before this Court. The learned Single Judge found that the Principal Commissioner (Exemption) is the competent authority to condone the delay, but the application has been filed before the Principal Commissioner, the 2nd respondent. Holding so, the learned Single Judge disposed of the writ petition with liberty to the appellant to file a fresh application before the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) W.A.No.2126 of 2023 -:4:- within a period of ten days and if such an application is filed, the Principal Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) was directed to consider the same and pass orders in accordance with law. The 4th respondent was also directed to consider the application for stay filed by the appellant against the intimation under Section 143(1) expeditiously 3. The learned Single Judge, however, did not grant stay of recovery proceedings pending disposal of the stay petition by the respondents. It is for this limited relief; the appellant is before us through the present appeal. 4. We have heard Sri. Harisankar V. Menon, the learned counsel for the appellant and Sri. Jose Joseph, the learned Standing counsel for the Income Tax Department. In our view, since the learned Single Judge had relegated the appellant to the alternative remedy before the statutory authority, it was incumbent upon the learned Judge to protect the appellant from recovery proceedings pending disposal of the petitions by the respondent appellate authority. Accordingly, we modify the impugned judgment of the learned Single Judge to the limited extent of clarifying that pending disposal of the stay petition or appeal, whichever is earlier by the appellate authority, the recovery proceedings against the appellant for recovery of the amounts W.A.No.2126 of 2023 -:5:- confirmed against it by Ext.P3 order shall be kept in abeyance. Save for this limited modification, the rest of the directions in the impugned judgment are not interfered with. Sd/- DR. A.K.JAYASANKARAN NAMBIAR JUDGE sd/- DR. KAUSER EDAPPAGATH JUDGE kp "