PCIT Vs HCL Infotech Pvt Ltd (Delhi High Court)
The Delhi High Court considered an appeal filed by the tax department against an order of the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal which had upheld the decision of the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) granting interest on a tax refund to the assessee under Section 244A of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
At the outset, the Court dealt with an application seeking condonation of a delay of 690 days in re-filing the appeal under Section 5 of the Limitation Act, 1963 read with Section 151 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The Court accepted the reasons stated in the application and condoned the delay.
The dispute originated from the assessee’s income tax return for the assessment year 2014-15. The assessee initially filed its original return on 30 November 2014 declaring a loss of ₹129,36,64,391 and claiming a refund of ₹15,38,86,689. Subsequently, a composite scheme of arrangement involving the assessee, its subsidiary companies, and its holding company was approved by the Delhi High Court under Section 391 of the Companies Act, 1956 by an order dated 30 October 2013. Under the scheme, a system integration undertaking of the holding company was merged with the assessee with effect from 1 November 2013, with the appointed date being 1 January 2013.
