PR.COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX-GANDHINAGAR vs. GUJARAT ROAD & INFRASTRUCTURE CO.LTD.

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TAXAP/868/2015HC GujaratGJHC24048018201531 July 2020Bench: HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. JUSTICE VIKRAM NATH,HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA2 pages
AI SummaryWithdrawn

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court disposed of the Tax Appeal. The decision was based on the Revenue not pressing the appeal due to a low tax effect, as per Circular No. 17/2019. The circular sets a monetary limit of Rs. 1,00,00,000 for appeals before the High Court. The Court noted that if there were any difficulties, the Revenue reserved the liberty to revive the tax appeal. No specific findings on the merits of the case were made, as the appeal was not pressed. The ratio decidendi is that appeals with a low tax effect, falling below the prescribed monetary limits in CBDT circulars, may not be pressed by the Revenue, leading to their disposal without adjudication on merits. The operative direction was to dispose of the appeal accordingly.

What were the facts?

The Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Gandhinagar (the Revenue) filed a Tax Appeal before the High Court of Gujarat at Ahmedabad against Gujarat Road & Infrastructure Co. Ltd. (the Assessee). The appeal was notified for an appropriate order. The appeal was listed for disposal considering the low tax effect and in light of Circular No. 17/2019 dated August 8, 2019, issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes. This circular outlines monetary limits for filing appeals. The appeal was to be disposed of in accordance with the new policy reflected in the circular.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the appeal should be entertained given the low tax effect, in light of Circular No. 17/2019? Assessee's Contention: The judgment does not record any specific contentions made by the assessee. However, the appeal was not pressed by the Revenue due to low tax effect, implying the assessee would likely support this stance. Revenue's Contention: The Revenue did not press the appeal in view of the low tax effect, referencing Circular No. 17/2019. The circular specifies a monetary limit of Rs. 1,00,00,000 for appeals before the High Court.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

C/TAXAP/868/2015 ORDER IN THE HIGH COURT OF GUJARAT AT AHMEDABAD R/TAX APPEAL NO. 868 of 2015 ========================================================== PR.COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX-GANDHINAGAR Versus GUJARAT ROAD & INFRASTRUCTURE CO.LTD. ========================================================== 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 THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. VIKRAM NATH and HONOURABLE MR. JUSTICE J.B.PARDIWALA

Date : 31/07/2020

ORAL ORDER (PER : HONOURABLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE MR. VIKRAM NATH) 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. Page 1 of 2

C/TAXAP/868/2015 ORDER 3. According to the new policy as reflected from the Circular referred to above, the table for monetary limits is as follows: Sr. No. Appeals/SLPs in Income tax 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. (VIKRAM NATH, CJ) (J. B. PARDIWALA, J) ALI ISTAYAK Page 2 of 2

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