Guidelines for Stay Petitions filed before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal

The guidelines were framed at the meeting held on 3rd April 2007.

Present in the meeting: Shri G.E.Veerabhadrappa (VP)

Shri K.P.T.Thangal (VP)

Shri K.C.Singhal (JM)

Representatives from the Department

Shri L.Nampui,Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, Mumbai

Shri S.C.Gupta, CIT (DR)

Shri M.P.Varshney, CIT (Judicial), Mumbai.

Representatives from the ITAT Bar Association

Shri S.E.Dastur, President, ITAT Bar Association. Shri Y.P.Trivedi
Shri K.Shivram
Shri Vipul Joshi.

1. The stay petitions filed upto Wednesday of a week will be listed on the Friday of the very same week. The Registry or the Bench will henceforth not insist on the rejection letter either from the Assessing Officer or the CIT for registering or hearing the stay petitions.

2. The fact that the assessee has moved a stay petition before the Tribunal should be intimated to the Assessing/Recovery Officer concerned by the assessee and also bring to the notice of the Assessing Officer the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of Mahindra & Mahindra (1992) 59 ELT 505 and request the Assessing Officer not to enforce the recovery during the pendency of the stay petition.

3. The Assessing Officer is bound to follow the decision of the Bombay High Court in the case of Mahindra & Mahindra (1992) 59 ELT 505 in its letter and spirit and any contravention thereof can only be challenged before the Hon’ble High Court.

4. If any coercive steps for recovery have already been taken by the Assessing/Recovery Officer, the same should be mentioned by way of application to the Vice-President or in the Bench where the Vice-President is sitting; if none of the Vice-Presidents are sitting on the Bench then the urgent motion shall be placed before the Bench in which the senior most Member, ITAT, Mumbai Benches, is constituted, who shall pass such orders as the Bench may deem fit in the circumstances. The assessee who wants to make urgent motion in the aforesaid manner should invariably brings it to the notice of the Departmental Representative of the concerned Bench before the start of the Beneh so that the department can effectively represent their views on the urgent motion.

5. The Departmental Representatives being the officers of the court shall intimate the proceedings in the court to the Assessing Officer/Recovery Officer concerned so that they can follow these directions as if they are written orders of the Bench.

6. No recovery should be done either by the Assessing/Recovery Officer in violation of the interim orders or oral direction of the Bench communicated by the Departmental Representative till the disposal of the stay petition.

7. If the interest of the revenue is jeopardized, if recovery proceedings are being interfered with by the ITAT, the Departmental Representative should mention it to the Bench before the interim orders are passed or the directions are given in the case.

The above guidelines will be strictly followed in the matters relating to the stay petition filed in Mumbai Benches. These guidelines are framed keeping in view the decisions of the Bombay High Court in the case of Mahindra & Mahindra (1992) 59 ELT 505 and other decisions just to avoid friction between the assessee and the departmental authorities in the matters relating to recovery of the demand involved in the stay petitions. These guidelines were framed at the meeting conveyed by the Vice-President (M) with the representatives of the Bar Association, the Chief Commissioner of Income-tax, the CCIT concerned with the recovery of taxes and the senior departmental representatives. It is expected that the CCIT and CIT (DRs) will do everything at their command so as to avoid the friction in the judicial functions of the Tribunal.

Sd/-

(G.E.Veerabhadrappa)

VICE-PRESIDENT