THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX vs. NAHAR THEATERS P. LTD

ITA/845/2009HC Delhi10 January 20131 pages

AI SummaryRemanded

What did the High Court hold?

The High Court held that the impugned orders of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) should be set aside, except for the portion relating to the annual letting value for the assessment year 2003-04. The court found that the ITAT had not considered the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated December 21, 2002, from the crucial perspective of whether it was part of the record before the Assessing Officer. This aspect, along with the rest of the contentions of the parties, needed to be examined afresh by the Tribunal. Consequently, the High Court remanded the matters back to the ITAT for a de novo consideration. The operative direction was for the parties to appear before the Tribunal on January 28, 2013, for further proceedings.

What were the facts?

The appeals before the High Court of Delhi concern assessment years 2003-04, 2004-05, and 2005-06. The appellant is the Commissioner of Income Tax, and the respondent is Nahar Theaters P. Ltd. The impugned orders were passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) on December 18, 2008, and August 12, 2009. The High Court noted that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated December 21, 2002, had not been considered by the ITAT from the perspective of whether it was part of the record before the Assessing Officer. The parties agreed that the matters required reconsideration by the Tribunal.

What were the issues?

1. Whether the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal erred in not considering the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated 21.12.2002 from the standpoint of whether it was part of the record before the Assessing Officer. (Question of law and fact) Assessee's Contentions: The judgment does not record any specific contentions made by the assessee (Nahar Theaters P. Ltd.) before the High Court. However, the agreement between the parties to re-consider the matter suggests a concession or acceptance of the need for further examination. Revenue's Contentions: The revenue (Commissioner of Income Tax) argued that the matters require reconsideration by the Tribunal. They also highlighted that the MOU dated 21.12.2002 had not been considered by the Tribunal from the perspective of its inclusion in the Assessing Officer's record, which needed to be looked into.

AI-generated summary — verify with the full judgment below

IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI . . . ITA 845/2009, ITA 909/2009 and ITA 1409/2010 . . . THE COMMISSIONER OF INCOME TAX ..... Appellant . Through : Mr Sanjeev Sabharwal with Mr Puneet . Gupta and Ms Gayatri Verma . . . versus . . . NAHAR THEATERS P. LTD ..... Respondent . Through : Mr M. S. Syali, Sr Advocate with Ms Husnal . Syali Nagi . . . CORAM: . HON'BLE MR JUSTICE BADAR DURREZ AHMED . HON'BLE MR JUSTICE R.V.EASWAR . . . O R D E R . 10.01.2013 . . . In these three appeals, namely, ITA 845/2009, ITA 909/2009 and ITA 1409/2010 pertaining to the assessment years 2003-04, 2004-05 and 2005- 06, respectively, the orders dated 18.12.2008 and 12.08.2009 in ITA Nos. 1661/Del/2007, 3184/Del/2007 and 2301/Del/2009 passed by the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal are impugned. . The counsel for the parties are agreed that these matters require to be re-considered by the Tribunal. We have also noticed that the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) dated 21.12.2002 has not been considered by the Tribunal from the standpoint as to whether the said MOU was part of the record before the Assessing Officer or not. This also needs to be looked into by the Tribunal. . Consequently, we are setting aside the impugned orders except the portion with regard to the annual letting value in respect of the assessment year 2003-04. The rest of the contentions of the parties will be gone into afresh by the Tribunal. . The parties shall appear before the Tribunal on 28.01.2013, in the first instance. The appeals stand disposed of accordingly. . BADAR DURREZ AHMED, J . . . . . . . R.V.EASWAR, J . . . JANUARY 10, 2013 . SR . . . $ 8 .

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