Tilaknagar Industries Limited v. The Commissioner Of Income Tax & Others

IN THE HIGH COURT OF JUDICATURE AT BOMBAYORDINARY ORIGINAL CIVIL JURISDICTION WRIT PETITION (L) NO.2792 OF 2010WITHWRIT PETITION (L) NO.2793 OF 2010 Tilaknagar Industries Limited Versus The Commissioner of Income Tax & others ..Petitioner. ..Respondents. Mr.S.E. Dastoor, Senior Counsel with Mr.Madhur Agarwal i/by Mr.Atul K. Jasani for the petitioner.Mr.P.S. Sahadevan for the respondents. CORAM : J.P. Devadhar & R.M. Savant, JJ. P.C. : DATE : 14[th] December, 2010. 1.These two petitions are filed against the orders passed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) whereby the appeals filed by the petitioner against the regular assessment orders have been dismissed on the ground that the appeal memo was not signed by the authorized officer of the petitioner – company. 2.This Court in the case of Prime Securities Limited V/s. Varinder Mehta, Assistant Commissioner of Income-tax reported in (2009) 317 ITR 27 (Bom) and Commissioner of Customs V/s. Cannon Shipping Company Private Limited reported in 250 ITR 347 has held that signing of the appeal memo by a person not authorized is only an irregularity and the same can be rectified. Although, the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) has tried to distinguish the judgment of this Court in the case of Prime Securities Limited (Supra), we see no merit in such distinction sought to be made. In this view of the matter, the learned counsel for the Revenue fairly states that the impugned orders be quashed and set aside and the appeals be remanded back to the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) for decision on merits in accordance with law. 3.The learned counsel for the petitioner states that after the appeals were dismissed by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), the assessing officer has called upon the petitioner to pay the amount found to be due and payable under the assessment order by 17[th] December 2010, without considering the stay application filed by the petitioner. Counsel for the petitioner states that the petitioner would make a fresh application for stay before the assessing officer within one week from today. Since the appeals filed by the petitioner are restored to the file of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals), the assessing officer is directed not to enforce the demand till the petitioner’s application for stay is decided and if the order is adverse to the petitioner, the same shall not be enforced for a period of two weeks from the date of communication of the said order. 4.The writ petitions are disposed of in terms of this order with no order as to costs. (R.M. Savant, J.)(J.P. Devadhar, J.)