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Facts
The Revenue filed an appeal before the ITAT against an order of the CIT(A) for Assessment Year 2017-18. The appeal was filed after the CBDT issued Circular No. 09/2024, which increased the monetary limit for filing appeals before the Tribunal to Rs. 60,00,000/-.
Held
The Tribunal held that CBDT circulars are binding on the Revenue and that the appeal filed by the Revenue was contrary to the new monetary limits set by Circular No. 09/2024 as the tax effect was less than Rs. 60,00,000/-. The Revenue was given liberty to seek recall if the tax effect was actually higher or if the appeal was otherwise maintainable.
Key Issues
Maintainability of Revenue's appeal before the ITAT in light of the revised monetary limits prescribed by CBDT Circular No. 09/2024.
Sections Cited
250, 143(3)
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Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Rajkot Bench, Rajkot
Before: Dr. Arjun Lal Saini & Dr. Dinesh Mohan Sinha
आदेश /ORDER Per, Dr. Arjun Lal Saini, AM:
Captioned appeal filed by the revenue, pertaining to Assessment Year 2017-18, is directed against the order passed under section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as “the Act”) by National Faceless Appeal Centre (NFAC), Delhi / Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals) (in short ‘Ld. CIT(A)’), dated 30.10.2025, which in turn arises out of an assessment order passed by the Assessing Officer u/s. 143(3) of the Act, on 20.12.2019.
Praful Maganlal Paida 2. We note that this revenue’s appeal, in comes in the ambit of tax effect of CBDT Circular vide Circular No. 09/2024 dated 17.09.2024. The CBDT has issued Circular No. 09/2024 dated 17.09.2024, whereby the monetary limits for filing of appeals by the Department before Income Tax Appellate Tribunal and High Courts and SLP before Supreme Court have been increased as measure for reducing Litigation. The revised monetary limits laid down in para-2 of this Circular are as follows:
Before Appellate Tribunal Rs.60,00,000/- 2. Before High Court Rs.2,00,00,000/- 3. Before Supreme Court Rs.5,00,00,000/-
In the present case, the tax effect by the revenue is less than Rs.60,00,000/-. Though this appeal had been filed by the revenue on 30/10/2025 and was within the monetary limit in the form of tax effect for filing appeals before Tribunal, in view of the recent Circular of CBDT, even such appeals will be governed by the new monetary limits laid down in the CBDT Circular No.09/2024 referred to above.
It is a settled law that the Circulars issued by CBDT are binding on the Revenue. This position was confirmed by the Apex Court in the case of Commissioner of Customs vs. Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. reported in 267 ITR 272 wherein their Lordships examined the earlier decisions of the Apex Court with regard to binding nature of the Circular and laid down that when a circular issued by the Board remains in operation then the Revenue is bound by it and cannot be allowed to plead that it is not valid or that it is contrary to the terms of the statute. The appeal under consideration has certainly been filed contrary to the Circular issued by the CBDT Circular No.09/2024 dated 17.09.2024.
In the event, the Revenue finds at a later point of time that the tax effect in the appeal is more than Rs.60 lakhs or despite low tax effect, the appeal of the revenue is maintainable, the revenue is at liberty to move this Tribunal for recalling of this order.