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Facts
The assessee filed an appeal against the order of the Assessing Officer, which was in consonance with the DRP and TPO orders. The assessee then informed the tribunal that they have availed the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme to settle the tax disputes.
Held
The tribunal noted that the assessee has filed an application under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme and, following the precedent of the Madras High Court, decided to dismiss the appeal.
Key Issues
Whether the appeal should be kept pending when the assessee has opted for the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme for dispute resolution.
Sections Cited
143(3), 144C, 144B, 92CA(3), 91(1)
AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, DELHI BENCH “I”: NEW DELHI
O R D E R PER M. BALAGANESH, A. M.: 1. The Assessee Fortum India Pvt. Ltd (hereinafter referred to as „assessee) by filing the present appeal sought to set aside the impugned order dated 24.12.2021 passed by the Assessing Officer (AO) under section 143(3) r.w.s. 144C r.w.s. 144B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (for short „the Act‟) inconsonance with the order passed by the Dispute Resolution Panel (DRP) dated 30.09.2021 u/s 144C(5) and order passed by Transfer Pricing Officer (TPO) under section 92CA(3) dated 17.12.2019 for AY 2017-18.
The assessee filed a letter dated 07.08.2025 before us stating that he has availed the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2024 introduced by the Statute to settle the tax disputes prevailing in this year by filing Form 1 u/s 91(1) on 23.04.2025. The contents of the letter is as under:-
“We refer to the captioned appeal for AY 2017-18, which is scheduled before your Honours on 08 July 2025. Page | 1 In this regard, it is respectfully submitted that the Assessee has filed an application in relation to the captioned appeal under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme of the Finance Act, 2024 ('Scheme'). As required under the said Act, Form I have been filed by the Assessee on 23 April 2025 - attached for your reference as Annexure 1, herewith. The response from the revenue authorities in Form 2 is still awaited. In view of the above, it is requested that the captioned proceedings be adjourned/ kept in abeyance till such time the Form 2 is issued by the revenue authorities. We trust our request will be acceded to. Thanking you.
Yours faithfully, For Fortum India Private Limited (Authorized Signatory) Rajnish Pander, CA”
The assessee had also enclosed the evidence in that regard before us. Since, the assessee had already filed an application under Direct Tax “Vivad Se Viswas Scheme Act 2024”, there is no need to keep appeal pending before us in view of the decision of Hon'ble Madras High Court in the case of Nannusamy Mohan (HUF) vs. ACIT in T.C.A. No.372 of 2020 dated 16.10.2020, wherein the Hon‟ble High Court after considering the intention of the assessee to avail the benefit of „Vivad se Vishwas Scheme-2020‟ (VSV scheme), had dismissed the appeal by observing in Para 7 to 9 as under:-
“7. As observed, the assessee is given liberty to restore this appeal in the event the ultimate decision to be taken on the declaration to be filed by the assessee under Section 4 of the said Act is not in favour of the assessee. If such a prayer is made, the Registry shall entertain the prayer without insisting upon any application to be filed for condonation of delay in restoration of the appeal and on such request made by the assessee by Page | 2 filing a Miscellaneous Petition for Restoration, the Registry shall place such petition before the Division Bench for orders.
In the light of the above, we direct the appellant/ assessee to file the Form No.I on or before 20.11.2020 and the competent authority shall process the application/ declaration in accordance with the Act and pass appropriate orders as expeditiously as possible preferably within a period of 6 (6) weeks from the date on which the declaration is filed in the proper form.
With this declaration, the Tax Case appeal stands disposed of with the aforementioned liberty and Consequently the Substantial Question of Law are left upon. No costs.”
In the light of the view taken by Hon‟ble Madras High Court cited (supra), we also give liberty to the assessee to get the appeal restored in the event that the assessee does not succeed on the declaration filed by the assessee under Direct Tax “Vivad Se Viswas Scheme-2024”. In other words, if the assessee‟s declaration filed is not accepted by the Revenue for any reason whatsoever, the assessee can make a prayer before the Bench for recalling of the order by filing a miscellaneous application for restoration of appeal. The Registry will place such petition before the Bench concerned.
In view of the aforesaid observations, we dismiss appeal with liberty to get them recalled in the eventuality of assessee‟s declaration not getting accepted by the Revenue.
In the result, the appeal of the assessee is dismissed.