ITAT Ahd Removes Agony Of Uncertainty To Taxpayers By Dismissing 697 Low Tax Effect Appeals Of Dept

Pursuant to CBDT’s Circular dated 11th July 2018 that appeals of the department before the Tribunal where the tax effect is less than Rs. 20 lakh should not be pressed/ withdrawn, the ITAT Ahmedabad Bench has identified 697 such appeals. Of these 242 appeals have been dismissed as not pressed/ withdrawn by a common order.

The CBDT has also issued a directive dated 20th August 2018 by which it has imposed strict time limits for withdrawl of appeals by the Department. All Principal Commissioners have been directed to “personally ensure” that the exercise of withdrawing/not pressing such appeals is concluded latest by 20.08.2018.

It may be recalled that even on the earlier occasion, the ITAT Ahmedabad Bench had taken the lead in the matter and dismissed several low-tax departmental appeals in DCIT vs. Soma Textiles & Industries Ltd (2016) 45 ITR (Trib) 0147

IN THE INCOME TAX APPELLATE TRIBUNAL
AHMEDABAD LTE-A BENCH, AHMEDABAD

[Coram: Pramod Kumar AM and Madhumita Roy JM]

IT(SS)A No.: 427/Ahd/2017
Assessment year: 2011-12
&
Other 230 appeals and related 11 COs as per Annexure-1 attached

Dy. Commissioner of Income-tax ………………………Appellant
Central Circle-1, Baroda
and others – as per column no. 4 of Annexure-1 attached

Vs.

Swati M Kankaria ………………..Respondent
No. 55, Chandrawali Society,
Water Tank Road, Karelibaug,
Vadodara – 390018
and others – as per column no.5 of Annexure-1 attached

Appearances by:
Appellant by – SK Dev
Respondents by – as per Annexure-1, column no.7.

Dates of concluding the hearing : July 25, 2018
Date of pronouncing the order : July 27, 2018

O R D E R
Per Bench:

1. Vide CBDT circular dated 11th July 2018, the income tax department has announced its policy decision not to file, or press, the appeals, before this Tribunal, against the appellate orders favourable to the assessee in the cases in which overall tax effect, including surcharge but excluding interest, is Rs 20,00,000 or less. This monetary limit, which was Rs 3,00,000 till 10th July 2014, has been in effect enhanced by almost 700% in the last four years, and the relief is retrospective in nature inasmuch as it not only applies to future appeals but also to be pending appeals.

2. In order to give effect to these taxpayer friendly measures, and to thus remove the agony of uncertainty to the taxpayers who have been successful before the lower appellate authorities, we have physically identified 697 such cases and copy of this list was furnished well in advance to the Income Tax Department as also the ITAT Bar Association and have also been placed on the notice-board. Out of these 697 appeals, the appeals listed at items nos. 1 to 242, as per Annexue-1, were heard by this Bench and are being disposed of by this consolidated order.

3. Learned Departmental Representative states the liberty may kindly be given to point out, upon necessary further verifications, and to seek recall the dismissal of appeals and restoration of the appeals in the cases (i) in which it can be demonstrated that the appeals are covered by the exceptions (ii) which are inadvertently included in this bunch of appeals, wherein the tax effect, in terms of the CBDT circular (supra), exceeds Rs 20,00,000. None opposes this prayer; we accept the same. We make it clear that the appellants shall be at liberty to point out the cases which are wrongly included in the appeals so summarily dismissed, either owing to wrong computation of tax effect or owning to such cases being covered by the permissible exceptions- or for any other reason, and we will take appropriate remedial steps in this regard.

4. In the light of the above discussions, and in the light of the CBDT Circular dated 11th July 2018, these appeals, involving tax effect of or less than Rs 20 lakhs, are dismissed as withdrawn. As the appeals filed by the Revenue are found to be non-maintainable and as the related 11 cross-objections of the assessee arise only as a result of those appeals and merely support the order of the CIT(A), the cross objections filed by the assessee are also dismissed as infructuous.

5. With the above observations, the appeals and cross objections are dismissed. Pronounced in the open court today on the 27th day of July, 2018.

Sd/- Sd/-
Madhumita Roy Pramod Kumar
(Judicial Member) (Accountant Member)

Dated: 27th of July, 2018.