Surya Exim Limited Thro Director Bhawani Singh Vs Union of India (Gujarat High Court)
Gujarat High Court held that demand notice issued after date of order of NCLT approving the resolution plan is liable to be quashed as claims which are not part of the resolution plan shall stand extinguished.
Facts- The petitioner-company was subjected to insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,2016 as application (CP(IB) No. 247/2020) u/s. 7 of the IBC was preferred by the Financial Creditor-State Bank of India on 03.02.2021. The petition of the bank was admitted and the Creditor Insolvency Resolution Process was initiated by the National Company Law Tribunal.
The NCLT, by order dated 01.07.2022, approved the application filed by the IRP under section 13(6) of the IBC and resolution plan submitted by the resolution applicant was approved.
It is the case of the petitioner that as per clause 12.3 (viii) of the resolution plan as approved by the NCLT, the resolution applicant will not be liable in respect of any reassessment, reopening, revision, review or other proceedings under the direct and indirect statutes.
The petitioner has therefore approached this Court by preferring the petition on the ground that the resolution applicant is not liable for any income tax proceedings prior to the effective date i.e. 01.07.2022. The petitioner has therefore challenged the notices issued by the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) in respect of A.Y. 2013-14 to 2018-19 for fixing the hearing of appeals filed by the petitioner against the assessment orders for the respective assessment years.
