ITAT Delhi Judgments — September 2017

The Tribunal held that the appeal of the Revenue deserved to be dismissed in limine due to low tax effect, as per CBDT Circular No. 21/2015. The circular was binding on tax authorities and applied retrospectively to pending appeals.

The Tribunal found that the AO and CIT(A) failed to properly examine the documentary evidence submitted by the assessee and did not fully comply with the previous ITAT directions. The matter was restored to the CIT(A) for fresh adjudication.

The Tribunal held that the Assessing Officer cannot treat the deductor (the bank) as an assessee in default unless it is first established that the payees have failed to pay the tax directly. Since this condition precedent was not met, the proceedings under sections 201(1) and 201(1A) were invalid.