THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL AHMEDABAD vs. NAVRATNA ORGANIZERS AND DEVELOPERS P. LTD

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TAXAP/479/2019HC GujaratGJHC24040492201909 September 2019Bench: HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA,HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE A.C. RAO2 pages

AI SummaryWithdrawn

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court held that the Tax Appeal was not pressed by the Revenue in view of the low tax effect, as per Circular No. 17/2019 dated August 8, 2019. The circular specifies monetary limits for appeals before different judicial forums, including the High Court, where the limit is Rs. 1,00,00,000. The court accepted the Revenue's submission that the appeal should be disposed of in accordance with this policy. The principle derived is that appeals falling below the stipulated monetary limits, as per CBDT directives, are to be withdrawn or not pressed. The operative direction was to dispose of the appeal accordingly. Liberty was reserved for the Revenue to revive the tax appeal in case of any difficulty. No specific issue was left undecided, as the appeal was disposed of on a procedural ground.

What were the facts?

The Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Central, Ahmedabad (the Revenue) filed a Tax Appeal before the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad against an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT). The appeal was notified for an appropriate order due to a low tax effect. The Revenue decided not to press the appeal in light of Circular No. 17/2019 dated August 8, 2019, issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT). This circular outlines new monetary limits for filing appeals. The appeal was disposed of in accordance with this circular, with liberty reserved for the Revenue to revive it if any difficulty arose.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the appeal should be dismissed due to low tax effect in light of CBDT Circular No. 17/2019? Assessee's Contentions: The assessee did not present any specific contentions as the appeal was not pressed by the Revenue. However, the appeal was disposed of based on the Revenue's decision to adhere to the CBDT Circular No. 17/2019, which sets monetary limits for appeals. The circular indicates that appeals with a tax effect below certain thresholds should not be pursued. Revenue's Contentions: The Revenue stated that the appeal was not pressed in view of the low tax effect, having regard to Circular No. 17/2019 dated August 8, 2019. The circular establishes monetary limits for appeals before various authorities, including the High Court, which was Rs. 1,00,00,000 (Rupees One Crore). The Revenue implicitly argued that the tax effect in this case fell below the prescribed limit, justifying the withdrawal of the appeal.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

C/TAXAP/479/2019 ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/TAX APPEAL NO. 479 of 2019 ========================================================== THE PRINCIPAL COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX, CENTRAL AHMEDABAD Versus NAVRATNA ORGANIZERS AND DEVELOPERS P. LTD ========================================================== 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 A.C. RAO

Date : 09/09/2019

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/479/2019 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) (A. C. RAO, J) aruna Page 2 of 2

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