M/S.cholan Buildings & Estates,Rep. By Its Managing v. The Chief Commissioner Of Income-Tax

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT MADRAS DATED: 08.10.2020 CORAM THE HONOURABLE DR. JUSTICE ANITA SUMANTHW.P. No.4111 of 2020 and WMP.No.4865 of 2020 M/s.Cholan Buildings & Estates,Rep. by its Managing Partner,No.305A/110, M.G.Road,New Fairlands, Salem – 636 016. Vs. . .. Petitioner 1.The Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax, 4[th] Floor, C.R.Building Annex, Queens Road, Bangalore. 2.The Deputy Commissioner of Income-Tax, Central Circle 2 (2), 4[th] Floor, C.R.Building Annex, Queens Road, Bangalore. 3.The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) – VI, Bangalore, Karnataka. 4.The Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle 1(1), Gandhi Road, Salem 636 007. ... Respondents Prayer: Writ Petition filed under Article 226 of theConstitution of India praying to Writ of Mandamus to directthe Respondents to transfer the appeal proceedings in AppealNos.CIT(A) Bengaluru – 11/11471/2018-19, CIT(A) Bengaluru –11/10784/2014-15 and CIT(A) Bengaluru – 11/11473/2018-19, forthe Assessment Year 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13 respectivelypending on the file of the 3[rd]Respondent, to thejurisdictional Circle 1(1) Salem in the interest of justice asper law. For Petitioner : M/s.Dr.R.MaheswariFor Respondents : Mr.A.N.R.Jeyaprathap Government Advocate O R D E R The petitioner has sought a mandamus for transfer ofappeals pending before the Commissioner of Income Tax(Appeals) Bangalore/R3 to the Appellate Commissioner at Salem.The appeals filed relate to assessments that had been framedpursuant to search and seizure action in the case of one M/s.Team Life Care India Private Limited on 20.10.2020 and othergroup cases. The aforesaid entity is based in Bangalore as aresult of which all search assessments of both the aforesaidcompany and in related cases that were searched including thepetitioner and its partners were framed by the AssessingAuthority at Bangalore. First appeals thus came to be filedbefore R3. 2. Insofar as the petitioner is concerned it is apartnershipfirmcomprisingofoneN.Gunasekaran,N.Gunasekaran (HUF) and his wife G.Shyamala, who is,admittedly, no more. First appeals have been filed byN.Gunasekaran challenging the assessments made on him in hisindividual capacity as well as the petitioner firm. A requestwas thereafter made by him seeking transfer of the appeals tothe appellate authority at Salem citing advanced age. Inconsideration of this request and accepting the same, appealsfiled by the individual have been transferred to the appellateauthority at Salem. However, the appeals of the firm in whichN.Gunasekaran and N.Gunasekaran (HUF) are partners, are beingretained in Bangalore Hence the present writ petition. 3. Reiterating the contents of the counter, learnedrevenue counsel would admit the position that all appealsinvolving the searched as well as related entities wereinitially centralized for assessment. Subsequently, and byorder dated 31.05.2018, they were decentralised, delinking theindividual appeals of N.Gunasekaran and permitting thetransfer of the said appeals from Bangalore to Salem. Incounter, the second respondent, the assessing authority atBangalore extends an assurance that the decentralization andtransfer of the firms’ appeals will also be considered afterpassing of the first appellate order for all assessment years. 4. Normally this Court would not be inclined to intervenein matters of transfer and posting of assessments and appealsas they fall within the domain of administration of theofficials of the Department. Furthermore, I am conscious ofthe fact that these assessments and appeals relate to searchproceedings and it is sometimes necessary that connectedrecords may be kept at one venue for ease of framingassessments and disposing appeals. It is for this reason thatsearch assessments are normally centralized at one point. 4. Normally this Court would not be inclined to intervenein matters of transfer and posting of assessments and appealsas they fall within the domain of administration of theofficials of the Department. Furthermore, I am conscious ofthe fact that these assessments and appeals relate to searchproceedings and it is sometimes necessary that connectedrecords may be kept at one venue for ease of framingassessments and disposing appeals. It is for this reason thatsearch assessments are normally centralized at one point. 5. However, in the present case the petitioner is a firmwhose Managing Partner is N.Gunasekaran. The other partner isN.Gunasekaran (HUF). His individual appeals have beendecentralized in May 2018. The Department has accepted thehttps://hcservices.ecourts.gov.in/hcservices/ request for transfer of the individual’s appeal to Salem, onaccount of the advanced age of N.Gunasekaran and I see noreason why the same logic not be extended to the firm’sappeals as well, seeing as the person to effectively representthese appeals is one and the same person. I reiterate thatthere is neither an averment in the counter citing anydifficulty whatsoever that would be caused by reason of thetransfer of the appeals nor is any averment made in thisregard by the learned Government Advocate before me. 6. For the aforesaid reasons, the mandamus sought for isissued and the appeals of the petitioner firm pending beforeR3/the Appellate Authority at Bangalore are directed to betransferred to Salem to be heard along with the individualappeals of N.Gunasekaran within a period of six(6) weeks fromtoday. 7. This writ petition is allowed in the aforesaid terms.Consequently, connected miscellaneous petition is closed. Nocosts. Sd/- Assistant Registrar(CS III) //True Copy// Sub Assistant Registrar ska To 1.The Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax, 4[th] Floor, C.R.Building Annex, Queens Road, Bangalore. 2.The Deputy Commissioner of Income-Tax, Central Circle 2 (2), 4[th] Floor, C.R.Building Annex, Queens Road, Bangalore. 3.The Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) – VI, Bangalore, Karnataka. 4.The Deputy Commissioner of Income-tax, Circle 1(1),Gandhi Road, Salem 636 007. +1cc to Mr.A.P.Srinivas , Advocate SR.No. 33354 +1cc to M/s.R.Maheswari , Advocate SR.No. 33366 W.P. No.4111 of 2020 and WMP.No.4865 of 2020