The Gujarat High Court held that Declaration Form under Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act cannot be rejected for mere invalidity of Appeal due to delay.
The Petitioner, Ritesh Bakuleshbhai Mehta assailed the impugned communication rejecting the Declaration filed by the Petitioner under the Direct Tax Vivad se Vishwas Act, 2020.
After the first round of litigation upto ITAT, remand proceedings were conducted by the Assessing Officer in case of the petitioner for the block assessment for the years. The Assessing Officer vide order framed the assessment for the said period. The petitioner assailed the said order before the CIT (Appeals) by filing an appeal along with an application seeking condonation of delay. Thereafter, the Appeal was fixed from time to time and was lastly fixed on 05.02.2016. It is the further case of the Petitioner that the said Act have come into force, for settling the disputes, the Petitioner being desirous of settling the dispute involved in the Appeal pending on the specified date, had decided to opt for availing the benefit under the said Act, and accordingly, had filed the Declaration in the prescribed Form Nos. 1 and 2 on 02.01.2021 under the said Act. However, it was displayed on the E-filing portal of the Respondent that the said Declaration was rejected on 26.04.2021, mainly on the ground that the First Appeal was filed belatedly and there was no information received from the Assessing Officer, as to whether the delay occurred in filing the Appeal before the Appellate Authority was condoned or not.
The division bench of Justice M. Trivedi and Justice A.C. Joshi held that there remains no shadow of a doubt that appeal could be said to be pending, even if the delay occurred in filing the same was not condoned and even if it was allegedly irregular or incompetent. In the instant case therefore also, the Respondent could not have rejected the Declaration Form of the Petitioner filed under the said Act merely on the ground that the Appeal was not valid or competent, as the delay occurred in filing the Appeal was not condoned by the Appellate Authority. In the opinion of the Court, the Respondent had to only take into consideration, whether, the Petitioner had filed an Appeal, and the same was pending on the ‘specified date’. It was not for the Respondent to decide, as to whether such Appeal was irregular or incompetent or invalid in the eye of law.
The court while quashing the communication rejecting the Declaration directed the respondent to accept the said Declaration under the said Act for the assessment year under consideration if otherwise, it is valid.
The counsel appearing for the petitioner was Advocate Hiren J.Trivedi and Advocate Mauna M.Bhatt for the respondent Authority.
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