The Principal Commissioner Of Income Tax, Panaji v. Herald Publications Pvt. Ltd

Vinita 1 TXA 103 -17 dt. 2-5-2018 IN THE HIGH COURT OF BOMBAY AT GOA TAX APPEAL NO.103 OF 2017. The Principal Commissioner of Income Tax, Panaji. ….. Appellant. Versus Herald Publications Pvt. Ltd. ..... Respondent. Ms. S. Linhares, Standing Counsel for the Appellant.Mr. D. E. Robinson, Advocate for the Respondent. Coram : N.M. Jamdar & Prithviraj K. Chavan, JJ. Date : 2 May 2018. P.C. : On 11 April 2018 we had passed following order:- “The learned counsel for the Respondent hasplaced before us a Circular issued by theC.B.D.T. dated 29 February 2016. According tothe learned counsel for the Respondent, there isno warrant to prefer an appeal since the orderpassed by the Tribunal is based on a decision ofthe Allahabad High Court in the case of JagranPrakashan Ltd. v Deputy CIT (TDS)1 whichhas been confirmed by the Apex Court andpursuant to which a Circular has been issued by Vinita 2 TXA 103 -17 dt. 2-5-2018 the C.B.D.T. The appeal has been sworn by theAssistant Commissioner of Income Tax whereinthe memo of appeal does not refer to the effectof the Circular which is binding. 2. The Appellant to explain as to whether theC.B.D.T. Circular produced on record by thelearned counsel for the Respondent is applicableto the facts of the case and if so in whatcircumstances the appeal is filed, moreparticularly in view the policy adopted by theGovernment to minimize the litigation.Affidavit to be filed before the next date. Standover to 2 May 2018.” 2.The learned Standing Counsel tenders an affidavit filed bythe Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax tendering apology for notexamining the circular which was applicable to the facts of the presentcase and filing the appeal which was not warranted to be filed. Whilewe accept the apology so tendered, the Assistant Commissioner shouldbe careful in examining the legal position before filing appeals indiscriminate manner like this, since entails expenditure at the cost ofpublic ex-chequer. 3.Appeal is dismissed as withdrawn. Prithviraj K. Chavan, J.N.M. Jamdar, J.