ACIT, New Delhi V. Shri Suresh Vaswani, New Delhi

ITA 5903/DEL/2015

• Counselvise Citation: [2018] 125 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 1271 (ITAT-DELHI)
• Duration Of Justice: 2 year(s) 10 month(s) 10 day(s)
• Appeal Type: Income Tax Appeal
• Pronouncement Date: 10-09-2018
• Appeal Filed By: Department
• Order Result: Dismissed
• Bench Allotted: A
• Assessment Year: 2012-2013
• Appeal Filed On: 30-10-2015
• Result in Favour of: Assessee
• Court: TRIBUNAL
• Department Lawyers: JANARDAN DASS SENIOR
• Keywords: Retrospective amendment; Tax effect

Judgement Text

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL (DELHI BENCH A : NEW DELHI) BEFORE HONBLE PRESIDENT, SHRI G.D. AGRAWAL AND SHRI KULDIP SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER ITA NO.5903/DEL./2015 (ASSESSMENT YEAR : 2012-13) ACIT, CIRCLE 50 (1), VS. SHRI SURESH VASWANI, NEW DELHI. C/O SHRI S.S. BROTHER, B 4, SHOPPING ARCADE, THE SURYA HOTEL, NEW FRIENDS COLONY, NEW DELHI 110 025. (PAN : AAGPV7923H) (APPELLANT) (RESPONDENT) ASSESSEE BY : NONE REVENUE BY : SHRI JANARDAN DASS, SENIOR DR DATE OF HEARING : 10.09.2018 DATE OF ORDER : 10.09.2018 O R D E R PER KULDIP SINGH, JUDICIAL MEMBER : THE APPELLANT, ACIT, CIRCLE 50 (1), NEW DELHI, BY F ILING THE PRESENT APPEAL, SOUGHT TO SET ASIDE THE IMPUGNED OR DER DATED 17.08.2015 PASSED BY LD. CIT (A)-17, NEW DELHI QUA THE ASSESSMENT YEAR 2012-13. 2. PERUSAL OF THE AFORESAID APPEAL FILED BY THE RE VENUE APPARENTLY SHOW THAT THE SAME IS HAVING LOW TAX EFF ECT AS PER ITA NO.5903/DEL./2015 2 CBDT CIRCULAR NO.3/2018 DATED 11 TH JULY, 2018 VIDE WHICH THE REVENUE HAS BEEN DIRECTED NOT TO PREFER ANY APPEAL IN CASE THE TAX EFFECT IS LESS THAN RS.20,00,000/- AND THIS FACTUAL POSITION HAS BEEN FAIRLY CONCEDED BY THE LD. DR. 3. WE HAVE HEARD THE LD. DR ON THE ISSUE IN CONTRO VERSY AND PERUSED THE MATERIAL ON RECORD. PERUSAL OF CBDT CIR CULAR (SUPRA) SHOWS THAT MONETARY LIMIT FOR FILING THE APPEAL BY THE DEPARTMENT BEFORE THE TRIBUNAL, HON'BLE HIGH COURT AND HON'BLE SUPREME COURT HAS BEEN REVISED AND THE RELEVANT PORTION OF THE AFORESAID CIRCULAR IS EXTRACTED AS UNDER: SUBJECT: REVISION OF MONETARY LIMITS FOR FILING OF APPEALS BY THE DEPARTMENT BEFORE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, HIGH COURTS AND SLPS/APPEALS BEFORE SUPREME COURT-MEASURES FOR REDUCING LITIGATI ON- REG. REFERENCE IS INVITED TO BOARDS CIRCULAR NO. 21 OF 2015 DATED 10.12.2015 WHEREIN MONETARY LIMITS AND OTHER CONDITIONS FOR FILING DEPARTMENTAL APPEALS (I N INCOME-TAX MATTERS) BEFORE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL, HIGH COURTS AND SLPS/ APPEALS BEFORE SUPREME COURT WERE SPECIFIED. 2. IN SUPERSESSION OF THE ABOVE CIRCULAR, IT HAS BE EN DECIDED BY THE BOARD THAT DEPARTMENTAL APPEALS MAY BE FILED ON MERITS BEFORE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNA L AND HIGH COURTS AND SLPS/ APPEALS BEFORE SUPREME COURT KEEPING IN VIEW THE MONETARY LIMITS AND CONDITIONS SPECIFIED BELOW. 3. HENCEFORTH, APPEALS/ SLPS SHALL NOT BE FILED IN CASES WHERE THE TAX EFFECT DOES NOT EXCEED THE MONETARY L IMITS GIVEN HEREUNDER: ITA NO.5903/DEL./2015 3 S. NO. APPEALS/SLPS IN INCOME -TAX MATTERS MONETARY LIMIT (IN RS) 1 BEFORE APPELLATE TRIBUNAL 20,00,000/- 2 BEFORE HIGH COURT 50,00,000/- 3 BEFORE SUPREME COURT 1,00,00,000/- IT IS CLARIFIED THAT AN APPEAL SHOULD NOT BE FILED MERELY BECAUSE THE TAX EFFECT IN A CASE EXCEEDS THE MONETA RY LIMITS PRESCRIBED ABOVE. FILING OF APPEAL IN SUCH C ASES IS TO BE DECIDED ON MERITS OF THE CASE. 12. IT IS CLARIFIED THAT THE MONETARY LIMIT OF RS. 20 LAKHS FOR FILING APPEALS BEFORE THE ITAT WOULD APPLY EQUA LLY TO CROSS OBJECTIONS UNDER SECTION 253(4) OF THE ACT . CROSS OBJECTIONS BELOW THIS MONETARY LIMIT, ALREADY FILED, SHOULD BE PURSUED FOR DISMISSAL AS WITHDRAWN / NOT PRESSED. FILING OF CROSS OBJECTIONS BELOW THE MONET ARY LIMIT MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED HENCEFORTH. SIMILARLY, REFERENCES TO HIGH COURTS AND SLPS/ APPEALS BEFORE SUPREME COURT BELOW THE MONETARY LIMIT OF RS. 50 LA KHS AND RS. 1 CRORE RESPECTIVELY SHOULD BE PURSUED FOR DISMISSAL AS WITHDRAWN/ NOT PRESSED. REFERENCES BEF ORE HIGH COURT AND SLPS/ APPEALS BELOW THESE LIMITS MAY NOT BE CONSIDERED HENCEFORTH. 13. THIS CIRCULAR WILL APPLY TO SLPS/ APPEALS/ CRO SS OBJECTIONS/ REFERENCES TO BE FILED HENCEFORTH IN SC/HCS/TRIBUNAL AND IT SHALL ALSO APPLY RETROSPECTI VELY TO PENDING SLPS/ APPEALS/ CROSS OBJECTIONS/REFERENC ES. PENDING APPEALS BELOW THE SPECIFIED TAX LIMITS IN P ARE 3 ABOVE MAY BE WITHDRAWN/ NOT PRESSED. 14. THE ABOVE MAY BE BROUGHT TO THE NOTICE OF ALL CONCERNED. ITA NO.5903/DEL./2015 4 15. THIS ISSUES UNDER SECTION 268A OF THE INCOME-TA X ACT 1961 5. IN VIEW OF THE CBDT CIRCULAR NO.3/2018 DATED 11 .07.2018 HAVING RETROSPECTIVE EFFECT AND WHAT HAS BEEN DISCU SSED ABOVE, WE ARE OF THE CONSIDERED VIEW THAT THE AFORESAID APPEA L IS NOT MAINTAINABLE BECAUSE OF LOW TAX EFFECT I.E. LESS TH AN RS.20,00,000/- HENCE, THE AFORESAID APPEAL FILED BY THE REVENUE IS HEREBY DISMISSED HAVING BEEN BECOME INFRUCTUOUS. HOWEVER, IN CASE, THE PRESENT APPEAL IS FOUND TO BE COVERED BY THE REVISE D GUIDELINES ISSUED BY THE CBDT VIDE LETTER F.NO.279/MISC.142/20 07-ITJ (PT) DATED 20 TH AUGUST, 2018, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL BE AT LIBERTY T O SEEK RECALL OF THIS ORDER UNDER RELEVANT PROVISIONS OF L AW. ORDER PRONOUNCED IN OPEN COURT ON THIS 10 TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2018 AFTER THE CONCLUSION OF THE HEARING. SD/- SD/- (G.D. AGRAWAL) (KULDIP SINGH) PRESIDENT JUDICIAL MEMBER DATED THE 10 TH DAY OF SEPTEMBER, 2018 TS COPY FORWARDED TO: 1.APPELLANT 2.RESPONDENT 3.CIT 4.CIT(A)-I, GURGAON. 5.CIT(ITAT), NEW DELHI. AR, ITAT NEW DELHI.