Kohinoor Educational Services Pvt. Ltd. Vs Union of India & Ors. (Delhi High Court)
The petitioner sought review of an order dated 28.11.2024 by which its writ petition had been dismissed. The original writ petition sought a mandamus directing the Executive Director (Finance) of Airports Authority of India (AAI) to issue the Accountant’s Certificate prescribed in Annexure-A to Form 26A under the Income Tax Act, 1961, in relation to payments allegedly made by the petitioner to AAI under a Licence Agreement dated 03.04.2009 concerning the use of Salem Airport.
The writ petition had earlier been dismissed on three principal grounds. First, it was filed in 2024 concerning a licence arrangement that ended on 02.04.2015, rendering the claim barred by delay and laches. Second, AAI had informed the Court that physical records prior to 01.04.2013 were unavailable due to destruction during the 2015 floods and that relevant data maintained in an earlier accounting system could not be retrieved. Third, the Court noted that the first proviso to Section 201(1) of the Income Tax Act became effective only from 01.07.2012, making its statutory foundation unavailable for a substantial portion of the petitioner’s claim. The Court had also recorded AAI’s inability to verify whether the income corresponding to the petitioner’s payments had been included in its taxable income, a prerequisite for issuance of Form 26A.
