COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (EXEMPTIONS) vs. GUJARAT COUNCIL OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING

PDF · subscribers

TAXAP/202/2019HC GujaratGJHC24031090201927 January 2020Bench: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA,HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA2 pages

AI SummaryWithdrawn

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad disposed of the tax appeal. The court noted that the appeal was not pressed by the appellant (Commissioner of Income Tax) in view of the low tax effect, as per Circular No. 17/2019 dated 8th August, 2019. This circular sets monetary limits for appeals, with a limit of Rs. 1,00,00,000 for appeals before the High Court. The court acknowledged the revenue's decision not to pursue the appeal due to this circular. The court reserved the liberty for the Revenue to revive the tax appeal in case of any difficulty. No specific findings on the merits of the original dispute were made as the appeal was disposed of on procedural grounds related to the tax effect.

What were the facts?

The Commissioner of Income Tax (Exemptions) filed a Tax Appeal before the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad against Gujarat Council of Vocational Training. The appeal was notified for an appropriate order due to low tax effect. The appeal was to be disposed of in light of Circular No. 17/2019, dated 8th August, 2019, issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board Direct Taxes. This circular outlines monetary limits for filing appeals. The appeal was not pressed by the appellant in view of the low tax effect.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the appeal should be dismissed on the grounds of low tax effect as per Circular No. 17/2019? (Question of law) Assessee's Contention: The assessee did not explicitly argue any points as the appeal was not pressed. However, the underlying reason for not pressing the appeal was the low tax effect, aligning with the CBDT's circular. Revenue's Contention: The revenue, as the appellant, did not press the appeal, citing the low tax effect as per Circular No. 17/2019. The circular specifies monetary limits for appeals before the High Court, which was Rs. 1,00,00,000. The revenue implicitly accepted that the tax effect in this case fell below this threshold, making it not worth pursuing.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

C/TAXAP/202/2019 ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/TAX APPEAL NO. 202 of 2019 ========================================================== COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX (EXEMPTIONS) Versus GUJARAT COUNCIL OF VOCATIONAL TRAINING ========================================================== Appearance: MRS MAUNA M BHATT(174) for the Appellant(s) No. 1 MS VAIBHAVI K PARIKH(3238) for the Opponent(s) No. 1 ========================================================== CORAM: HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE BHARGAV D. KARIA

Date : 27/01/2020

ORAL ORDER

(PER : HONOURABLE MR.JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA) 1. The Registry has notified the appeal for the purpose of passing an appropriate order. The captioned appeal has been notified because of the low tax effect. The appeal is to be disposed of keeping in mind the Circular No.17/2019, dated 8th August, 2019 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board Direct Taxes, New Delhi. 2. This tax appeal is not pressed in view of the low tax effect having regard to the Circular No.17/2019, dated 8th August, 2019 issued by the Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Revenue, Central Board Direct Taxes, New Delhi. 3. According to the new policy as reflected from the Circular referred to above, the table for monetary limits is as follows: Page 1 of 2

C/TAXAP/202/2019 ORDER Sr. No. Appeals/SLPs in Incometax matters Monetary Limit (Rs.) 1 Before Appellate Tribunal 50,00,000 2 Before High Court 1,00,00,000 3 Before Supreme Court 2,00,00,000 4. In view of the aforesaid, the appeal is disposed of accordingly. In case of any difficulty, we reserve the liberty for the Revenue to revive the tax appeal. (J. B. PARDIWALA, J) (BHARGAV D. KARIA, J) GIRISH Page 2 of 2

Recent GST High Court judgments

Search GST case law →