Ravikiran Damodar Kudade Vs ITO (ITAT Pune)
The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Pune, disposed of a batch of appeals filed by various assessees for Assessment Years 2020-21 and 2021-22 through a consolidated order, as the appeals involved a common issue relating to compensation received under the BSNL Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), 2019. The assessees, former employees of Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited (BSNL), challenged separate orders of the Additional/Joint Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) passed under Section 250 of the Income Tax Act, 1961.
The Tribunal noted that the Government of India had approved a revival plan for BSNL and MTNL through an Office Memorandum dated 29.10.2019 following the Union Cabinet meeting held on 23.10.2019. As part of this revival package, BSNL introduced the Voluntary Retirement Scheme, 2019 for employees aged 50 years and above. The assessees had originally offered the compensation received under the scheme to tax after claiming exemption under Section 10(10C) up to ₹5 lakh. Subsequently, for the first time before the Commissioner (Appeals), they claimed that the entire compensation constituted retrenchment compensation exempt under Section 10(10B) and was a capital receipt. Some appeals had been dismissed on account of delay, while others were rejected on the ground that the claim had not been made through a revised return.
