Smt. Sutapa Chakravarty Vs Chief Commissioner of Income Tax (Meghalaya High Court)
The Meghalaya High Court heard a petition from Smt. Sutapa Chakravarty, who was seeking a final order to close her Capital Gain Deposit Scheme (CGDS) account. The petitioner’s lawyer, Mr. N. Dasgupta, stated that despite a previous court order from September 6, 2024, the tax authorities had only partially released funds, withholding the remaining amount. The petitioner argued that since the property transaction resulted in a capital loss, no tax liability should apply, and the full amount should be released.
In response, the Income Tax Department’s lawyer, Mr. S. C. Keyal, informed the court that the assessee had not fulfilled all the necessary conditions for the complete closure of the account. A key requirement was the filing of a revised income tax return for the relevant year, which the department considered a separate issue from the CGDS account closure proceedings. The court noted that the assessee had already filed a return before the prior court order. The court also observed that the sale proceeds were mistakenly deposited into the CGDS account, as advised by a tax consultant, despite the transaction reportedly resulting in a capital loss.
The court, after considering the arguments, directed the petitioner to file a revised income tax return for the assessment year 2018-19 with the relevant tax authority. The court also permitted the petitioner to file the return physically if needed. Once the revised return is filed, the tax authorities are directed to issue a final order for the closure of the CGDS account in accordance with the law. The court emphasized that the matter should be handled with the utmost urgency, given that it has been pending since 2019.
