ITAT Ahmedabad Dismisses 697 Low Tax Effect Dept Appeals

DCIT Vs Swati M Kankaria (ITAT Ahmedabad)

1. Vide CBDT circular dated 11^th July 2018, the income tax department has announced its policy decision not to file, or press, the appeals, before this Tribunal, against the appellate orders favourable to the assessee in the cases in which overall tax effect, including surcharge but excluding interest, is Rs 20,00,000 or less. This monetary limit, which was Rs 3,00,000 till 10^th July 2014, has been in effect enhanced by almost 700% in the last four years, and the relief is retrospective in nature inasmuch as it not only applies to future appeals but also to be pending appeals.

2. In order to give effect to these taxpayer friendly measures, and to thus remove the agony of uncertainty to the taxpayers who have been successful before the lower appellate authorities, we have physically identified 697 such cases and copy of this list was furnished well in advance to the Income Tax Department as also the ITAT Bar Association and have also been placed on the notice-board. Out of these 697 appeals, the appeals listed at items 1 to 242, as per Annexue-1, were heard by this Bench and are being disposed of by this consolidated order.

3. Learned Departmental Representative states the liberty may kindly be given to point out, upon necessary further verifications, and to seek recall the dismissal of appeals and restoration of the appeals in the cases (i) in which it can be demonstrated that the appeals are covered by the exceptions (ii) which are inadvertently included in this bunch of appeals, wherein the tax effect, in terms of the CBDT circular (supra), exceeds Rs 20,00,000. None opposes this prayer; we accept the same. We make it clear that the appellants shall be at liberty to point out the cases which are wrongly included in the appeals so summarily dismissed, either owing to wrong computation of tax effect or owning to such cases being covered by the permissible exceptions- or for any other reason, and we will take appropriate remedial steps in this regard.

4. In the light of the above discussions, and in the light of the CBDT Circular dated 11^thJuly 2018, these appeals, involving tax effect of or less than Rs 20 lakhs, are dismissed as withdrawn. As the appeals filed by the Revenue are found to be non-maintainable and as the related 11 cross-objections of the assessee arise only as a result of those appeals and merely support the order of the CIT(A), the cross objections filed by the assessee are also dismissed as infructuous.

5. With the above observations, the appeals and cross objections are dismissed. Pronounced in the open court today on the 27^thday of July, 2018.