DCIT Vs AVR Storage Tank Terminals Pvt. Ltd. (ITAT Kolkata)
Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT), Kolkata Bench, has dismissed an appeal filed by the Deputy Commissioner of Income Tax (DCIT) against AVR Storage Tank Terminals Pvt. Ltd. The revenue’s appeal, pertaining to Assessment Year 2020-21, primarily challenged the Commissioner of Income Tax (Appeals) [CIT(A)] for allowing a deduction for education cess and higher education cess. The revenue had argued this was contrary to the Supreme Court’s decision in PCIT vs. Chambal Fertilizers & Chemicals Ltd. (SLP(C) No.7379 of 2019, dated 14.12.2022).
Despite a 159-day delay in filing, which the Tribunal acknowledged and condoned for reasonable cause, the ITAT ultimately found the revenue’s appeal to be without purpose. The assessee’s representative informed the Tribunal that the specific CIT(A) order (dated April 17, 2024) that the revenue was appealing had already been set aside by the ITAT’s own order dated December 6, 2024. In that prior ruling, the Tribunal had remanded the matter back to the CIT(A) for a fresh hearing, specifically because the CIT(A) had decided issues that were never raised by the assessee.
Given that the original order forming the basis of the revenue’s current appeal no longer stood, having been previously nullified and sent back for re-adjudication, the ITAT concluded that the revenue’s current challenge lacked substance. The Tribunal observed that the revenue’s grounds had become irrelevant. The ITAT dismissed the appeal on February 25, 2025, underscoring the procedural requirements in tax litigation and the necessity for appeals to target valid, subsisting orders.
