Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemption) Circle-1, Mangalore V. M/s Provincial House of Sisters of Charity , Mangalore

ITA 1252/BANG/2017

• Counselvise Citation: [2017] 127 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 7354 (ITAT-BANGALORE)
• Duration Of Justice: 5 month(s) 12 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 15-11-2017
• Appeal Filed By: Department
• Order Result: Dismissed
• Bench Allotted: A
• Assessment Year: 2012-2013
• Appeal Filed On: 02-06-2017
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: M K BIJU J
• Assessee Lawyers: V K GURUNATHAN
• Keywords: Tax effect

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL C BENCH, B E NGAL U R U BEFORE SHRI INTURI RAMA RAO, ACCOUNTANT MEMBER AND SHRI LALIET KUMAR, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA NO. 1252 / BANG/ 201 7 (ASSESSMENT YEAR : 2012 - 13) ASST. COMMISSIONER OF INCOME - TAX (EXEMPTIONS ) CIRCLE - 1, MANGALORE. VS. APPELLANT M/S.PROVINCIAL HOUSE OF SISTERS OF CHARITY, KANKANADY, MANGALORE. PAN: AAATP 2945 F RESPONDENT APPELLANT BY : SHRI M.K.BIJU, JCIT(DR) RESPONDENT BY : SHRI V.K.GURUNATHAN, ADVOCATE. DA TE OF HEARING : 08/11/2017 DATE OF PRONOUNCEMENT : 15 /11/2017 O R D E R PER I NTURI RAMA RAO, AM : THIS IS AN APPEAL FILED BY THE REVENUE DIRECTED AGAINST THE ORDER OF THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME - TAX (APPEALS), MANGALORE, DATED 13/03/2017 FOR THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2012 - 13. 2. AT THE OUTSET, IT IS OBSERVED THAT THE TAX EFFECT INVOLVED IN TH IS APPEAL IS BELOW RS.10 LAKHS. T HE CBDT, WITH A VIEW TO REDUCE UNNECESSARY LITIGATION ON THEIR PART, HAS ISSUED A CIRCULAR NO.21/2015 DATED 10TH DECEMBER, 2015, WHEREIN THEY HAVE REVISED THE MONETARY LIMITS FOR FILING OF APPEALS BY THE DEPARTMENT BEFORE THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, HIGH COURTS AND SUPREME COURT. INSOFAR AS THE ITA NO . 1252 /BANG/201 7 PAGE 2 OF 4 TRIBUNAL IS CONCERNED, THE MONETARY LIMIT SPECIFIED IS RS.10 LAKHS. THE CB DT SPECIFIED THAT WHERE THE TAX EFFECT DOES NOT EXCEED THE MONETARY LIMIT SPECIFIED THEREIN, THE CONCERNED AUTHORITY HAS TO WITHDRAW ITS APPEAL OR IT NEED NOT PRESS THE SAME. IT IS FURTHER SPECIFIED THAT THE TAX EFFECT INDICATED THEREIN IS APPLICABLE TO ALL PENDING APPEALS, THOUGH THEY ARE FILED BY THE REVENUE PRIOR TO THE ISSUANCE OF THE SAID CIRCULAR. IT WAS ALSO CLARIFIED THAT THE ASSESSING OFFICER HAS TO CALCULATE THE TAX EFFECT SEPARATELY FOR EVERY ASSESSMENT YEAR IN RESPECT OF THE DISPUTED ISSUE / S IN THE CASE OF EVERY ASSESSEE. IF, IN THE CASE OF AN ASSESSEE, THE DISPUTED ISSUE ARISES IN MORE THAN O NE YEAR(S), APPEAL(S) CAN BE FILED IN RESPECT OF SUCH ASSESSMENT YEAR(S) IN WHICH TAX EFFECT IN RESPECT OF THE DISPUTED ISSUE EXCEEDS THE MONETARY LIMIT SPECIFIED. IN OTHER WORDS, IF THERE ARE A NUMBER OF YEARS, IF THE TAX EFFECT IS LESS THAN THE SPECIFIED LIMIT IN ONE YEAR, APPEAL CANNOT BE FILED OR THE SAME HAS TO BE WITHDRAWN FOR THAT YEAR, FOR WANT OF TAX EFFECT. HOWEVER, AN EXCEPTION IS MADE TO THI S DIRECTION WITH REGARD TO A COMBINED ORDER PASSED BY THE FIRST APPELLATE AUTHORITY. THAT IS, IF IN ONE OF THE YEARS THE TAX EFFECT IS MORE THAN RS.10 LAKHS AND THE REVENUE DECIDES TO FILE AN APPEAL, IN RESPECT OF OTHER YEARS COVERED BY THE SAID ORDER ALS O, REVENUE IS ELIGIBLE TO FILE APPEAL, EVEN THOUGH THE TAX EFFECT IN EACH OF THOSE YEARS IS LESS THAN RS.10 LAKHS. IT WAS ALSO CLARIFIED THAT MERELY BECAUSE THE APPEAL IS DISMISSED FOR WANT OF TAX EFFECT, IT DOES NOT COME IN THE WAY OF THE DEPARTMENT IN F ILING APPEAL FOR OTHER YEARS(S), AND IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT THE DEPARTMENT HAS ACQUIESCED THE ISSUE. 3 . THE ABOVE CIRCULAR WAS SPECIFICALLY MADE APPLICABLE TO ALL PENDING APPEALS. IN THE PRESENT CASE, THE TAX EFFECT ON THE ADDITION IN ITA NO . 1252 /BANG/201 7 PAGE 3 OF 4 DISPUTE, WHICH W AS DELETED BY THE CIT(A) BY THE IMPUGNED ORDER IS INDISPUTABLY BELOW 10 LAKHS. 4. THE L EGISLATUR E IN ITS WISDOM HAS INTRODUCED SECTION 268A OF THE INCOME TAX ACT, 1961, WHEREBY THE BOARD IS EMPOWERED TO ISSUE ORDERS/INSTRUCTIONS/DIRECTIONS TO THE IN COME - TAX AUTHORITIES, FIXING THE MONETARY LIMITS FOR THE PURPOSE OF REGULATING THE FILING OF APPEALS. IN THE LIGHT OF THE CIRCULAR DATED 10 / 12 / 2015, ISSUED BY THE CBDT IN EXERCISE OF THE POWERS CONFER RED IN IT BY SUBSECTION (1) OF SECTION 268A, WE ARE OF T HE VIEW THAT THE APPEAL FILED HEREIN SHOULD NOT HAVE BEEN PRESSED BY THE REVENUE. THE LEARNED DEPARTMENTAL REPRESENTATIVE FAIRLY ADMITTED THAT THE REVENUE EFFECT IN THIS APPEAL IS LESS THAN THE PRESCRIBED LIMIT IN PARA - 3 OF THE ABOVE CIRCULAR ISSUED BY THE CBDT. HAVING REGARD TO THE CIRCUMSTANCES OF THE CASE, WE DISMISS THE APPEAL S OF THE REVENUE AS WITHDRAWN/NOT PRESSED, AS PRONOUNCED IN THE OPEN COURT. 5. HOWEVER, THE REVENUE IS AT LIBERTY TO MOVE APPROPRIATE APPLICATION/PETITION IN CASE IT IS FO UND THAT THE CASE IS COVERED BY ONE OF THE EXCEPTION(S) CARVED OUT IN THE SAID CIRCULAR. 6. IN THE RESULT, THE APPEAL FILED BY THE REVENUE IS DISMISSED. ORDER PRONOUNCED IN THE OPEN COURT ON 15 TH NOVEMBER , 201 7 SD/ - SD/ - ( LALIET KUMAR ) (INTURI RAMA RAO) JUDICIAL MEMBER ACCOUNTANT MEMBER PLACE : B EN GAL URU D A T E D : 15 /11 /2017 SRINIVASULU, SPS ITA NO . 1252 /BANG/201 7 PAGE 4 OF 4 COPY TO : 1 APPELLANT 2 RESPONDENT 3 CIT(A ) 4 CIT 5 DR, ITAT, BANGALORE. 6 GUARD FILE BY ORDER SENIOR PRIVATE SECRETARY INCOME - TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL BANGALORE