SUZLON GUJARAT WIND PARK LIMITED,AHMEDABAD vs. THE DY.CIT, CIRCLE-4(1)(1), AHMEDABAD

The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in confirming the rejection of rectification application u/s. 154 of the Act for short grant of interest on refund u/s. 244A of the Act.

The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in holding that the appellant is not eligible to receive Rs. 16,39,177/- on account of short grant of interest u/s. 244A of the Act on refund of Rs. 10,92,78,473/-.

Alternatively, and without prejudice the interest u/s. 244A of the Act on refund of Rs. 10,92,78,473/- shall be allowed till the date of preparation of demand draft order as directed by CIT(A) i.e. till September, 2018. 4. The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in holding that the appellant is not eligible to receive Rs. 9,460/- on account of short grant of interest u/s. 244A of the Act on refund of Rs. 1,11,297/-.

Alternatively, and without prejudice, the interest u/s. 244A of the Act on refund of Rs. 1,11,297/- shall be allowed till the date of preparation of demand draft order as directed by CIT(A) i.e. till November, 2020. 6. The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in not following the order for preceding year passed by his predecessor allowing short grant of interest on refund u/s. 244A of the Act on identical facts.

The Ld. CIT(A) has erred in law and on facts of the case in holding that the appellant was granted excess interest on refund on erroneous interpretation that the appellant's case falls under sub-clause (ii) instead of sub-clause (i) of Section 244A(1)(a) of the Act.

The direction issued by Ld. CIT(A) to Ld. AO for verification of excess refund is bad in law as such direction is provided without issuing any show cause notice to the appellant u/s. 251(2) of the Act for proposed reduction in refund.

Both the lower authorities have erred in interpreting the provisions of S. 244A of the Act in its correct perspective.

Both the lower authorities have passed the orders without properly appreciating the facts and they further erred in grossly ignoring various submissions, explanations and information submitted by the appellant from time to time which ought to have been considered before passing the impugned order. The action of the lower authorities is in clear breach of law and Principles of Natural Justice and therefore deserves to be quashed.

The Appellant craves leave to add, amend, alter, edit, delete, modify or change all or any of the grounds of appeal at the time of or before the hearing of appeal.”

The brief facts of the case are that the assessee, Suzlon Gujarat Wind Park Limited (PAN: AAICS2717D), filed its original return of income for Assessment Year 2017-18 on 13.10.2017 under section 139(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (the “Act”), claiming refund of ₹10,92,78,473/- on account of TDS/TCS. Subsequently, the assessee filed a revised return on 25.05.2018 under section 139(5), in which it made an additional claim of TDS of ₹1,47,030/-. Out of this, TDS credit of ₹1,11,297/- was allowed by the Department, and refund was accordingly issued vide rectification order under section 154 dated 22.07.2020. The refund and interest granted under section 244A totalled to ₹11,81,47,067/-, comprising refund of ₹10,93,89,770/- and interest of ₹87,57,297/-. The refunds were received on 01.10.2018 and 18.11.2020 respectively. The assessee contended that there was a short grant of interest under section 244A to the extent of 16,48,643/-, on the ground that interest should have been computed from 01.04.2017 (the beginning of the assessment year) up to the actual date of receipt of refund in its bank account. The Assessing Officer, however, computed the interest from the date of filing the revised return, i.e., 25.05.2018, until the date of issue of the refund instrument, holding that the delay attributable to the assessee due to the revised return was not eligible for interest under section 244A(1)(a)(ii).

Before the CIT(Appeals), the assessee reiterated its contention that interest under section 244A was required to be computed up to the date of credit of refund into its bank account, and that the term “granted