B.L. Agro Industries Limited Vs Union of India (Allahabad High Court)
Summary: The Allahabad High Court allowed the writ petition filed by B.L. Agro Industries Limited and quashed the order dated October 30, 2023 passed by Interim Board for Settlement-VII, Chennai under Section 245D(4) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, as well as the consequential order dated December 15, 2023 under Section 245D(6B). The dispute concerned computation of the statutory 18-month period under Section 245D(4A)(iii), read with Sections 245D(9)(iii) and 245M(2), for disposal of a settlement application by an Interim Board.
A search and seizure under Section 132 was conducted on October 4, 2018 at the premises of B.L. Agro Industries Limited, following which notices under Section 153A were issued for Assessment Years 2009-2010 to 2018-2019 and notice under Section 143(2) was issued for Assessment Year 2019-2020. After the Income Tax Settlement Commission was abolished by the Finance Act, 2021 with retrospective effect from February 1, 2021, the petitioner approached the Allahabad High Court and, pursuant to the Court’s order dated March 19, 2021, filed a settlement application on March 23, 2021. The CBDT subsequently directed that settlement applications filed between 01.02.2021 and 30.09.2021 be treated as pending applications within the meaning of Section 245A(eb). The application was thereafter dealt with under the e-Settlement Scheme, 2021 and allotted to IBS-III, Delhi.
