ITO, WARD- 1(4), SHAMLI vs. CANE DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL, SHAMLI

Both the appeals by the Revenue are directed against the different Orders of the Ld. CIT(A), Muzaffarnagar, Dated 28.09.2017, for the A.Y. 2006-2007, challenging the cancellation of penalty under section 271(1)(c) of the I.T. Act, 1961 and Dated 03.10.2016 for the A.Y. 2006-2007.

Admittedly, the tax effect in both the Departmental Appeals are less than Rs.50 lakhs. Vide Circular No.3/2018 Dated 11thJuly, 2018 issued by CBDT under section 268A of the I.T. Act, it has been directed that the Department shall not file appeal before the Tribunal in case where the tax effect does not exceed the monetary limit of Rs.20 lakhs. It is also directed that this instruction will apply retrospectively to pending appeals and appeals to be filed henceforth in the Tribunal. Pending appeals below the specified tax limit may be withdrawn/not pressed by the Department. The CBDT Vide Circular No.17/2019 Dated 08.08.2019 amended the earlier Circular No.3/2018 (supra) whereby it has been directed that monetary limit for filing the Departmental appeal in Income Tax Cases may be enhanced further through this amendment in para-3 of the Circular mentioned above and accordingly, the monetary limit for filing the appeal before the Appellate Tribunal have been enhanced to Rs.50 lakhs. Since Circular No.17/2019 Dated 08.08.2019 have been issued to amend its earlier

The Ld. D.R. in view of the above Board’s Circulars did not press the Departmental Appeals. The cases of the Department would not fall in the exceptions provided in the above Board Circulars. In the result, the Departmental appeals are not maintainable as the appeals are filed against the Board instructions referred to above and therefore, the appeals of the Department are liable to be dismissed.

In the result, appeals of the Department are dismissed.