COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX - RAJKOT - II vs. FRIENDS LAND DEVELOPMENT CO

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TAXAP/60/2012HC GujaratGJHC24042734201227 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 held that the tax appeal is not pressed by the Revenue due to the low tax effect, as per Circular No. 17/2019 dated August 8, 2019. The Court noted the revised monetary limits for appeals, stating that the limit for appeals before the High Court is Rs. 1,00,00,000. Consequently, the appeal was disposed of in accordance with this circular. The Court also reserved the liberty for the Revenue to revive the tax appeal if any difficulty arises. The principle here is that tax authorities are bound by their own circulars regarding monetary limits for litigation, and appeals below these limits may be withdrawn or not pressed.

What were the facts?

The Commissioner of Income Tax - Rajkot - II (the Revenue) filed a tax appeal before the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad against Friends Land Development Co (the assessee). The appeal was notified for an appropriate order due to 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, which revised monetary limits for filing appeals. The circular specifies a monetary limit of Rs. 1,00,00,000 for appeals before the High Court. The appeal was disposed of accordingly, with liberty reserved for the Revenue to revive it in case of difficulty.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the appeal should be dismissed due to low tax effect in light of Circular No. 17/2019? (Question of law and procedure) The Revenue argued that the appeal is not pressed in view of the low tax effect, citing Circular No. 17/2019. This circular establishes new monetary limits for appeals, with Rs. 1,00,00,000 being the limit for appeals before the High Court. The Revenue's contention is that the current appeal falls below this revised threshold, making it not worth pursuing. The assessee did not record any specific arguments in the judgment.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

C/TAXAP/60/2012 ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/TAX APPEAL NO. 60 of 2012 ========================================================== COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX - RAJKOT - II Versus FRIENDS LAND DEVELOPMENT CO ========================================================== Appearance: MRS MAUNA M BHATT(174) for the Appellant(s) No. 1 MR B S SOPARKAR(6851) 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/60/2012 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) aruna Page 2 of 2

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