The Supreme Court of India has dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the Commissioner of Commercial Taxes for vagueness in reasons stated for condonation of delay and low tax effect.
The SLP sought to challenge a final judgment and order dated March 5, 2018, issued by the High Court of Judicature at Allahabad in State Tax Revision No. 90/2018.
The Commissioner of Commercial Taxes was represented by AOR Bhakti Vardhan Singh, Dhawal Uniyal, and Ankit Khatri. On the other side, M/s Northern Aromatics Ltd. was represented by AOR Charanya Lakshmikumaran, Apeksha Mehta, Falguni Gupta, Neha Choudhary, and Umang Motiyani.
The two-judge bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Dipankar Datta observed that, “The averments made therein are vague and evasive. Otherwise also the tax effect is of hardly Rs.37 lakh.”
As a step towards further management of litigation. it was decided by the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) that monetary limits for filing of appeals in income-tax cases be enhanced as follows:
Before Appellate Tribunals – Rs. 50,00,000/-
Before High Courts – Rs. 1,00,00,000/-
Before the Supreme Court – Rs. 2,00,00,000/-
Further, with a view to provide parity in filing of appeals in scenarios where separate order is passed by higher appellate authorities for each assessment year vis-a-vis where composite order for more than one assessment year is passed.
Notably, the Assessing Officer shall calculate the tax effect separately for every assessment year in respect of the disputed issues in the case of every assessee. If in the case of an assessee. the disputed issues arise in more than one assessment year, appeal can be filed in respect of such assessment year or years in which the tax effect in respect of the disputed issues exceeds the monetary limit specified, as per the CBDT Circular No. 17/2019.
Further, even in the case of composite order of any High Court or appellate authority which involves more than one assessment year and common issues in more than one assessment year no appeal shall be filed in respect of an assessment year or years in which the tax effect is less than the monetary limit specified. Also, In case where a composite order/judgment involves more than one assessee, each assessee shall be dealt with separately by the AO.
Consequently, the SLP was dismissed on the grounds of the delay, while keeping the question of law open to be decided in an appropriate case.
Subscribe Taxscan Premium to view the JudgmentSupport our journalism by subscribing to Taxscan premium. Follow us on Telegram for quick updates
