Itxa/195/2016 Of Commissioner Of Income Tax 25 v. Swastik Developers

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAYORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION INCOME TAX APPEAL NO. 195 OF 2016 WITH INCOME TAX APPEAL NO. 204 OF 2016 Commissioner of Income Tax 25Mumbai .. Appellant v/s. Swastik Developers ..Respondent Mr. Arvind Pinto for the appellantMr. Jignesh Shah for the respondent CORAM : M.S. SANKLECHA & SANDEEP K. SHINDE, J.J. P.C. DATED : 11[th] JULY, 2018. 1.These two appeals arise from a common impugned order dated28[th] August 2013 of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (the Tribunal),relating to Assessment Years 2003-04 and 2007-08. 2.Mr. Pinto, learned Counsel appearing for the Revenue invited ourattention to Circular No.21 of 2015 issued by the Central Board forDirect Tax dated 10[th ] December 2015. In particular, our attentioninvited to paragraphs 3, 5 and 10 therein which read as under:- “3:-Henceforth, appeals/SLPs shall not be filed in cases where the tax effect does not exceed the monetary limits givenhereunder:- Sr.Appeals in Income Tax mattersMonetary LimitNo.(in Rs.)1Before Appellate Tribunal 10,00,000/-2Before High Court 20,00,000/-3Before Supreme Court 25,00,000/- It is clarified that an appeal should not be filed merelybecause the tax effect in a case exceeds the monetary limitsprescribed above. Filing of appeal in such cases is to bedecided on merits of the case.” 5. The Assessing Officer shall calculate the tax effectseparately for every assessment year in respect of the disputedissues in the case of every assessee. If, in the case of anassessee, the disputed issues arise in more than oneassessment year, appeal, can be filed in respect of suchassessment year or years in which the tax effect in respect ofthe disputed issues exceeds the monetary limit specified inpara 3. No appeal shall be filed in respect of an assessmentyear or years in which the tax effect is less than the monetarylimit specified in para 3. In other words, henceforth, appealscan be filed only with reference to the tax effect in the relevantassessment year. However, in case of a composite order of anyHigh Court or appellate authority, which involves more thanone assessment year and common issues in more than oneassessment year, appeal shall be filed in respect of all suchassessment years even if the 'tax effect' is less than theprescribed monetary limits in any of the year(s), if it isdecided to file appeal in respect of the year(s) in which 'taxeffect' exceeds the monetary limit prescribed. In case where acomposite order / judgment involves more than one assessee,each assessee shall be dealt with separately.” “10:-This instruction will apply retrospectively to pendingappeals and appeals to be filed henceforth in High Courts/Tribunals. Pending appeals below the specified tax limits inpara 3 above may be withdrawn/not pressed. Appeals before the Supreme Court will be governed by the instructions on thissubject, operative at the time when such appeal was filed.” 3.In the present cases, the tax effect as mentioned in paragraph 11of the each of the two Appeal Memos is as under :- Appeal No.Assessment YearAmount (Tax effect) 195 of 20162007-08Rs.10.08 lakhs204 of 20162003-04Rs.6.86 lakhs 4.Consequently, these appeal are not hit by clause 5 of the CentralBoard of Direct Taxes' Circular No.21/2015 dated 10[th] December, 2015.As none of the two appeals have a tax effect of Rs.20 lakhs or more,Mr. Pinto, learned Counsel appearing for the Revenue seeks liberty towithdraw these appeals. 5.Accordingly, both the Appeals are dismissed as withdrawn. 6.Refund of Court Fees, as per Rules. (SANDEEP K. SHINDE J.) (M.S. SANKLECHA, J.)