INDIA CARBON LTD V. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX and A

ITA/14/2000

AI Insights

This case involves an appeal by the assessee, India Carbon Ltd., against the order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Gauhati, which had decided an issue concerning Section 43-B of the Income Tax Act against the assessee for the assessment year 1988-89. The appeal was heard alongside another appeal (ITA 13/2000) involving the same parties and legal issues but different assessment years. The core legal questions revolved around the Tribunal's adherence to previous High Court judgments and the consistency of its decisions across different assessment years for the same legal issue. The court referenced a prior decision (ITA 13/2001) where the same issue was decided in favor of the assessee, leading to the dismissal of the Revenue's appeal. Consequently, the court in this case also decided in favor of the assessee, setting aside the Tribunal's earlier order.

• Counselvise Citation: [2003] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 756637 (HC-GAUHATI)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 22-05-2003
• Assessment Year: misc
• Other Referred Cases: Commissioner of Income Tax -vs- India Carbon Ltd.
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act
• Result in Favour of: Others
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: S SARMA
• Assessee Lawyers: A K SARAF
• Keywords: Assessment Year; Income tax appellate tribunal; Jurisdictional high court; Section 43-B
• Section: 260A; 43(B)

Judgement Text

"ITA 14/2000 BEFORE HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. A.M. SAPRE HON’BLE MR. JUSTICE A.K. GOSWAMI (Sapre, CJ) Heard Dr. A.K. Saraf, learned senior counsel for the appellant and Mr S Sarma, learned counsel for the respondents. The decision rendered in this appeal shall also govern disposal of the c onnected appeal being ITA 13/2000 because both these appeals are filed by the as sessee and involve common question of law except the difference being that of th e assessment year. This is an appeal filed by the assessee under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act against the order dated 25.9.2000 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tr ibunal, Gauhati Bench, Guwahati (for short, hereinafter called ’the Tribunal’) i n ITA 118/Gau/1992 in respect of assessment year 1988-89. This appeal was admitted for final hearing on 1.6.2001 to answer the fol lowing three substantial questions of law arising in the appeal : (1) Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had not acted arbitrarily and ill egally in not following the judgment and order of the jurisdictional High Court on the same issue in respect of the appellate company itself in respect of the p receding year whereby this Hon’ble Court deleted the additions made to the incom e of the assessee u/s 43-B of the Act? (2) Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal constituting the same Bench was le gally justified in passing two contrary orders in respect of two different asses sment years of the appellate company on the same issue when all the appeals were heard together on the same day and the judgment was reserved thereon ? (3) Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal has not exceeded its jurisdiction in going into the issues not arising out of the order of the Commissioner of Inc ome Tax (Appeals) and which were not the subject matter of appeal before the Inc ome-Tax Appellate Tribunal ? At the very outset, both the learned counsel appearing for the parties b rought to our notice that the questions framed in this appeal referred supra sta nd already answered by this Court in ITA 13/2001 filed by this very assessee whi ch was decided on 22.5.2003 (Commissioner of Income Tax -vs- India Carbon Ltd.), (2003) 262 ITR 327 (Gau), wherein this Court while dismissing the appeal filed by the Revenue affirmed the order passed by the Tribunal which had decided the i ssue in favour of the assessee. In other words, the only difference in this case and ITA 13/2001 is that this ap peal is filed by the assessee whereas ITA 13/2001 was filed by the Revenue, but it was in relation to the same question which is the subject matter of both thes e appeals. Since in this case, the issue was decided against the assessee by the Tribunal w hereas in the earlier case (ITA 13/2001) the same issue was decided by the Tribu nal in favour of the assessee and hence the Revenue was required to file an appe al questioning the legality and correctness of the order of the Tribunal in that case, which as mentioned above, was upheld by this Court by dismissing the Reve nue’s appeal. Without, therefore, burdening our order by mentioning the facts in detai l and suffice it to say, this appeal also therefore deserves to be allowed and i s accordingly allowed by answering the questions in favour of the assessee and a gainst the Revenue. As a result, the impugned order passed by the Tribunal in so far as it relates t o the issue of Section 43-B is concerned is set aside. No cost. "