HIGH COURT OF DELHI
Commissioner of Income-tax
Versus
Income-tax Settlement Commission
W.P.(C) No. 213 OF 2012
AND C.M. APPL. No. 452 OF 2012
NOVEMBER 20, 2012
ORDER
S. Ravindra Bhat, J. – In this writ petition, the revenue challenges the impugned order passed by the Income Tax Settlement Commission (Commission, in short) dated 21.10.2011 whereby the Settlement Commission, by a majority of 2:1 admitted applications under section 245C, Income Tax Act, 1961 (the Act, in short) for settlement of cases even after the expiry of the time limit prescribed for making an order of assessment under section 143/144 of the Act.
2. In this view, the short question that arises for consideration in this writ petition is whether proceedings are to be deemed to remain “pending” for the purposes of section 245A(b) when the time limit for completion of assessment under section 143 or section 144 has expired.
3. The brief facts of the case are that the second respondent (hereafter called the “assessee”) had filed returns in respect of four assessment years. The last date for completing scrutiny assessments as provided by the law expired on different dates. A tabular statement disclosing the relative assessment years, the dates on which returns were filed and the dates on which the time provided by law expired, is extracted below:
