ISHAN INTERNATIONAL EDUCATIONA V. CHIEF COMMISSIONER OF INCOME T

CWJC/17760/2011

AI Insights

The case involves Ishan International Education, a society registered under the Societies Act, 1860, which sought to quash an order from the Chief Commissioner of Income Tax-1, Patna, and to obtain approval for exemption under Section 10(23C)(vi) and (via) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, for the assessment year 2002-03. The petitioner argued that their application for exemption was improperly handled. However, the court found procedural flaws in the filing of the application, including it being submitted to the wrong authority and not within the required timeframe. The court referenced the decision in Commissioner of Income Tax & Anr. v. Karnataka Planters Coffee Curing Work Private Limited to support its decision not to entertain the petition due to these procedural issues and the passage of time without action from the petitioner.

• Counselvise Citation: [2020] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 742732 (HC-PATNA)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 15-09-2020
• Assessment Year: misc
• Other Referred Cases: Commissioner of Income Tax & Anr. v. Karnataka Planters Coffee Curing Work Private Limited
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Revenue
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: ARCHANA SINHA
• Assessee Lawyers: D V PATHY
• Keywords: Application filing; Assessment Year; Competent authority; Disputed Question of Fact; Exemption
• Section: 10(23C)(vi); 10(23c)(via)

Judgement Text

"IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT PATNA Civil Writ Jurisdiction Case No.17760 of 2011 ====================================================== Ishan International Education, a Society Registered under the Societies Act, 1860 having its office at South end of Doctor's Colony, Malahi Pakri, Kankarbagh, Patna 800020 through its President, Dr. Arbind Kumar, Son of Late Durga Singh, Resident of South end of Doctor's Colony, Malahi Pakri, Kankarbagh Patna-800020. ... ... Petitioner/s Versus 1. Chief Commissioner of Income Tax-1, Patna having its office at Central Revenue Building, Bir Chand Patel Path, Patna 2. Commissioner of Income Tax-1, Patna having its office at Central Revenue Building, Bir Chand Patel Path, Patna ... ... Respondent/s ====================================================== Appearance : For the Petitioner/s : Mr.D.V.Pathy, Advocate For the Respondent/s : Mrs. Archana Sinha, Advocate ====================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE S. KUMAR ORAL JUDGMENT (Per: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE) Date : 15-09-2020 Petitioner has prayed for the following relief(s): “i) the order dated 26.8.2011 for the assessment year 2002-03 (as contained in Annexure-4) passed by the respondent no. 1 under Section 10 (23C) (vi) or (via) of the Act be quashed; ii) the respondent no. 1 be directed to accord approval under Section 10 (23C) (vi) or (via) of the Act for the assessment year 2002-03; iii) for granting any other relief(s) to Patna High Court CWJC No.17760 of 2011 dt.15-09-2020 2/5 which the petitioner is otherwise found entitled to.” In view of disputed question of fact, and the law laid down by Hon’ble the Apex Court in Commissioner of Income Tax & Anr. v. Karnataka Planters Coffee Curing Work Private Limited, (2016) 9 SCC 538, we are not inclined to entertain the present petition, more so when we find that for a little less than a decade, petitioner failed to pursue any remedy in accordance with law. We are concerned with the assessment proceedings pertaining to the Assessment Year 2002-03. Petitioner seeks to set up a claim for exemption under Section 10(23C) (vi) and (via) of the Income Tax Act, 1969. Seeking such benefit, purportedly, petitioner submitted an application (Form No. 56D) before the authority on 31st of October, 2002. On record there is another application stated to have been filed on 4th of February, 2003. The Chief Commissioner, Income Tax I, Patna has dealt with the petitioner’s claim, seeking exemption, vide impugned order dated 26th of August, 2011 (Annexure-4) which is extracted as under: “Ishan International Educational Society, Malahi Pakri, Kankarbagh, Patna-800020 (the Patna High Court CWJC No.17760 of 2011 dt.15-09-2020 3/5 applicant) has filed an application dated 12th May, 2011 enclosing therewith photocopy of an application in Form No. 56D dated 30/10/2002 for grant of exemption u/s 10(23C) (vi) & (via) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the A.Y. 2002-03 filed on 04/02/2003 before Commissioner of Income-tax, Patna-I, Patna. The stipulation as per 14th proviso to section 10(23C) inserted vide Finance Act, 2006 with effect from 01st June, 2006, requires that an application made on or after 01st June, 2006 for the purposes of grant of exemption or continuance thereof, is filed before the appropriate authority at any time during the financial year immediately preceding the assessment year from which the exemption is sought. Thus, the application in Form No. 56D seeking exemption u/s 10 (23C)(vi) & (via) of the Income-tax Act, 1961 for the AY-2002- 03 should have been filed in the office of Chief Commissioner of Income-tax-I, Patna and not in the office of Commissioner of Income-tax-I, Patna, as CCIT-I, Patna is the appropriate authority for the purposes of grant of exemption u/s 10(23C)(vi) & (via) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Further, the application of the assessee filed on 04/02/2003 even if treated as a pending application could not be proceeded with as the application is invalid being time barred as it should have been filed on or before 31/03/2002. The competent authority is not vested with power of condonation of delay. Patna High Court CWJC No.17760 of 2011 dt.15-09-2020 4/5 Hence, the application of the assessee filed on 12/05/2011 seeking grant of exemption u/s 10(23C)(vi) & (via) for the A.Y. 2002-03 is rejected being invalid and without considering the request on merits. While disposing of the applications as aforesaid, the facts stated in the letter dated 19/08/2011 filed suo motu by the applicant have also been considered” From the material on record, it is evident that similar application(s) filed by the petitioner for the subsequent periods were dealt with by the competent authority. However, with respect to the year in question, it is the case of the Revenue that the application filed, if any, was not before the competent authority, and as such, none other than the authorized authority was under any obligation to deal with the same. We are in agreement. That apart, we notice that even though the petitioner diligently pursued similar application for the period subsequent to the one in question, but did not take any steps for pursuing the application purportedly filed on 31st of October, 2002/ refiled on 4th of February, 2003. For more than eight years petitioner allowed the matter to be slept over. Here only we may clarify that the Revenue does Patna High Court CWJC No.17760 of 2011 dt.15-09-2020 5/5 not admit filing of the application (Annexures P-1 and P-2), but only avers that neither any application was filed nor was it pending with the competent authority. For all the aforesaid reasons, more so in view of disputed question of fact, applying the ratio laid down in Commissioner of Income Tax & Anr. v. Karnataka Planters Coffee Curing Work Private Limited (supra) we refrain from passing any order which the petitioner so desires. Hence, the instant petition, instituted on 30.09.2011 is dismissed in the aforesaid terms. K.C.Jha/- (Sanjay Karol, CJ) ( S. Kumar, J) AFR/NAFR CAV DATE Uploading Date 22.09.2020 Transmission Date "