THE BARMER CENTRAL COOPERATIVE BANK LTD. vs. A.C.I.T. CIRCLE BARMER

ITA/227/2013HC RajasthanRJHC01033912201324 August 20163 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court held that the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) erred in remanding the assessment to the Assessing Authority without taking into consideration the approval granted to the gratuity fund of the appellant-Bank, which was effective from 1-4-2010. The Court observed that this approved gratuity fund was indeed on record before the ITAT but was not considered during the adjudication of the appeal. Therefore, the High Court deemed it appropriate to allow the appeal. The judgment impugned dated 15.7.2013 was set aside to the extent of the remand. The matter was remanded back to the ITAT for re-adjudication of the concerned issue afresh on merits, with a specific direction to consider the approval to the gratuity fund granted to the appellant-Bank w.e.f. 1-4-2010. The ratio decidendi is that an appellate tribunal must consider all relevant documents on record before deciding to remand an issue, especially when such documents pertain to the crucial period in dispute.

What were the facts?

The appellant, The Barmer Central Cooperative Bank Ltd., through its Managing Director, filed an appeal against the order dated 15.7.2013 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Jodhpur Bench. The appeal was preferred by the assessee against the respondent, The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle-Barmer. The High Court of Judicature for Rajasthan at Jodhpur framed a substantial question of law concerning the ITAT's decision to remand the assessment. The core of the dispute revolves around whether the ITAT was justified in remanding the assessment despite the approval of the gratuity fund for the appellant-Bank being on record effective from 1-4-2010. The High Court noted that this approval was not considered by the ITAT.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench, Jodhpur is right in remanding the assessment to the Assessing Authority despite the fact that approval to gratuity fund of the appellant-Bank w.e.f. 1-4-2010 was already on record? Assessee's Contention: The assessee argued that the ITAT erred in remanding the assessment to the Assessing Authority because the approval to the gratuity fund, effective from 1-4-2010, was already on record and should have been considered. The assessee implicitly contended that the ITAT should have decided the matter on merits without remand given this crucial piece of evidence. Revenue's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific contentions made by the revenue regarding this issue.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

Cause title — parties, addresses and appearances

[1] IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE FOR RAJASTHAN AT JODHPUR -------------------------------------------------------------- D.B. INCOME TAX APPEAL NO.227/2013 APPELLANT : The Barmer Central Cooperative Bank Ltd., through its Managing Director, Shri K.K. Gupta, Mahaveer Nagar, Barmer (Raj.) Versus RESPONDENT : The Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, Circle- Barmer, District Barmer (Raj.) DATE OF JUDGMENT : 24.08.2016 HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE K.S. JHAVERI HON'BLE MR. JUSTICE GOVIND MATHUR Mr. Anjay Kothari, for the appellant Mr. Sunil Bhandari, for the respondents

JUDGMENT ------------ BY THE COURT : This appeal is preferred to question correctness of the order dated 15.7.2013 passed by Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench, Jodhpur. On 11.8.2016 this Court framed a substantial question of law involved in the terms that :

[2] “Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Jodhpur Bench, Jodhpur is right in remanding the assessment to the Assessing Authority despite the fact that approval to gratuity fund of the appellant-Bank w.e.f. 1-4-2010 was already on record ?. From perusal of record it is apparent that the approved gratuity fund was on record of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal but that has not been taken into consideration. The Tribunal while adjudicating the appeal should have considered approval to gratuity fund of the appellant-Bank w.e.f. 1-4-2010. Looking to this fact, we deem it appropriate to allow this appeal by setting aside the judgment impugned dated 15.7.2013 to the extent referred above and the matter is remanded to the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal for re-adjudication of the issue concerned afresh on merits by taking into consideration the approval to gratuity fund to the appellant-Bank which was granted w.e.f. 1-4-2010. [GOVIND MATHUR],J. [K.S. JHAVERI], J.

[3] Sanjay

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