Sun Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. Vs ITO & Anr. (Delhi High Court)
Delhi High Court held that CBDT Circular No. 07/2007 dated 23.10.2007 imposing period of limitation of 2 years for application for excess tax deposit is not sustainable since CBDT Circulars cannot curtail the statutory provisions by prescribing limitation periods in the event that none is prescribed in the Act.
Facts- The writ petitioner impugns the order dated 27 March 2018 in terms of which the respondent has come to reject applications filed by it seeking refund of excess tax wrongly deducted and deposited u/s. 195 of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The applications themselves pertained to Financial Years 2010-11 to 2012-13. Since the respondent has also held against the petitioner for a perceived delay in the filing of those applications, the petitioners also mount a challenge to Circular No. 07/2007 dated 23 October 2007 issued by the Central Board of Direct Taxes and which had introduced a prescription of limitation for the institution of such refund applications. The respondent has held against the writ petitioner not only on the ground that the applications were barred by time but also on the basis of those applications not being liable to be granted on merits. In consequence to the challenge as raised, the petitioners also seek an appropriate direction for refund of the excess tax that had come to be deposited.
