M/S JHALANI TRADING COMP V. INCOME TAX OFFICER AND ANR

CW/3890/2012

AI Insights

M/s Jahalani Trading Company filed a writ petition against the Income Tax Officer and another respondent, challenging the recovery of disputed income tax demands amounting to Rs.96,224 for the assessment year 2005-06 and Rs.2,50,000 plus Rs.20,000 per month starting from June 2012 for the assessment year 2009-10. The petitioner sought to quash the orders dated 23.01.2012 and 07.03.2012, which were related to these demands. The respondents argued that the stay applications related to these demands had already been addressed by the Appellate Authority, which required the petitioner to make partial payments to stay further recoveries. The court, after reviewing the submissions and the orders from the Appellate Authority, decided not to interfere with the ongoing proceedings and dismissed the writ petition.

• Counselvise Citation: [2012] 140 COUNSELVISE.COM (IT) 751035 (HC-RAJASTHAN)
• Appeal Type: Others
• Pronouncement Date: 29-03-2012
• Assessment Year: misc
• Laws Referred To: Income Tax Act, 1961
• Result in Favour of: Revenue
• Court: HIGH COURT
• Department Lawyers: PARINITO JAIN
• Assessee Lawyers: N K BAID
• Keywords: Assessment Year; Coercive Action; High-pitched assessment; Income tax demand; Stay Application
• Section: 143(3); 220(6)

Judgement Text

"1 IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JAIPUR BENCH ORDER S.B. CIVIL WRIT PETITION NO.3890/2012 (M/s Jahalani Trading Company Vs. The Income Tax Officer & Anr.) Date of Order : 29.03.2012 HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE ALOK SHARMA Mr. N.K. Baid, for the petitioner. Mrs. Parinito Jain, for the respondents. This petition has been filed with the following prayers : (a) By an appropriate writ, order or direction the respondent No.1's order / direction dated 23.01.2012 (Annexure-4) and order / direction dated 07.03.2012 (Annexure-6) be quashed/set aside/cancelled for recovery of highly disputed & illegal Income Tax demand of Rs.96,224/- + Rs.2,50,000/- + Rs.20,000/- per month starting from June, 2012. (b) By an appropriate writ, order or direction the respondent No.1 be directed to withdraw and / or cancel the impugned letter/order dated 23.01.2012 (Annexure-4) and letter/order dated 07.03.2012 (Annexure-6). (c) to restrain the respondents from taking any further coercive action in relation to the impugned notice/order dated 07.03.2012. (d) directing the respondent No.2 to hear the appeals immediately, out of turn and in the meanwhile to stay the disputed demand till the disposal of appeal pending before him. (e) that this Hon'ble Court be pleased to issue a writ of prohibition, or a writ in the nature of prohibition, or any other appropriate writ, order of prohibiting, the respondent themselves from attaching the Bank accounts of the petitioner or taking any other coercive action to recover the highly disputed demand as referred to hereinabove. 2 Mrs. Parinitu Jain, appearing for the respondents at the outset submits that the ground on which the writ petition is fundamentally based is that even while the stay application in the appeal instituted against the order under Section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter 'the Act of 1961) passed against the petitioner-assessee is pending, recoveries of the amounts in terms of the order of assessment and a further order on an application under Section 220(6) of the Act of 1961 by the assessing authority are sought to be made from the petitioner-assessee who is being required to deposit a sum of Rs.96,224/- against the alleged outstanding demand pursuant to the assessment year 2005-06 and a sum of Rs.2,50,000/- + Rs.20,000/- per month against the alleged outstanding demand for assessment year 2009-10. Counsel for the respondent-Department submits that in appeal before the Commissioner of Income Tax Appeals by the petitioner-assessee, the stay application filed along with appeal has been disposed of vide order dated 27.03.2012 whereby it has been directed that in respect of assessment year 2005-06, the petitioner pay a sum of Rs.40,000/- upto 15.04.2012 and in the event of the aforesaid payment, the reminder of the demand in respect of the assessment year 2005-06 would remain stayed. It has 3 been further pointed out that on the stay application in the appeal in respect of demand created qua assessment year 2009-10, also vide order dated 27.03.2012, the Appellate Authority by way of an interim order has directed that the petitioner-assessee pay a sum of Rs.1 lakh each for the month of April, May and June, 2012 whereupon further recoveries under the order of assessment would remain stayed. Counsel for the respondents submits that the application for stay accompanying the appeal filed by the petitioner-assessee before the Appellate Authority having been decided, the cause of action on which the writ petition is founded has ended and the petitioner-assessee if at all is aggrieved, can now challenge the order dated 27.03.2012. Having heard the counsel for the parties and having perused the writ petition as also the orders dated 27.03.2012 passed by the Appellate Authority in respect of both the assessment years 2005-06 and 2009-10, a copy whereof has also been supplied to the counsel for the petitioner-assessee, I am of the view that there is no occasion to interfere in the writ petition as the stay application in the appeals against the orders of assessment for assessment years 2005-06 and 2009-10 have been decided on 27.03.2012. It is however directed that as the appeals filed by the petitioner-assessee before the Appellate 4 Authority are against a high pitched assessment whereagainst the return income or assessed income in one case is over 1000 times, the appeals filed by the petitioner- assessee be decided within a period of 30 days from the submission of the certified copy of this order. The writ petition is accordingly disposed of. Stay application is also dismissed. (ALOK SHARMA), J MS/-154 All corrections made in the judgment/order have been incorporated in the judgment/order being emailed. - Manoj Solanki, Jr. P.A. "