2015 (4) TMI 1150 - AT - Income Tax

Appeal Dismissed: No Appeal Against Chief Commissioner's Order

Dharmaj Kelvani Mandal Versus CCIT, Vadodara

The appeal against the refusal to grant an exemption certificate under section 10(23C)(vi) of the Act was dismissed by the Tribunal. The Tribunal held ... Grant of exemption certificate u/s.10(23C)(vi) refused - non maintainability of appeal being not as per the provisions of Section 253(1) of IT Act - Held that:- As held in Sanskruti Samraksha Charitable Trust Vs. CCIT [2014 (6) TMI 975 - ITAT AHMEDABAD] in terms of the provisions of Section 253(1)(c) an order passed by Chief Commissioner of Income Tax u/s.272A is subject to appeal. As per Section 253 of IT Act, any assessee aggrieved by the orders; as listed therein, may appeal to the Appellate Tribunal against such order. In the sub-clause, there is a list of orders against which an appeal can be filed before the Appellate Tribunal. On examination of all those clauses, we have noted that there is no provision for filing of an appeal against an order passed u/s.10(23C) of IT Act. As far as the written submissions filed by the assessee, the same are on merits of the case. But in this situation, we are not in a position to hear and decide this appeal on merits; therefore, the contentions as raised in those written submissions being beyond our jurisdiction, cannot be adjudicated upon. Few case laws have also been cited but all those judgments are passed by Hon’ble High Courts under Writ jurisdiction. Therefore, this appellant can seek redressal from that forum and not from the Tribunal. Resultantly, we hereby dismiss this appeal in limine being not maintainable before the Tribunal. - Decided against assessee. Issues: Appeal against refusal to grant exemption certificate u/s.10(23C)(vi) of the Act.The judgment pertains to an appeal filed by the assessee against the order of the Chief Commissioner of Income-Tax, Baroda, refusing to grant an exemption certificate under section 10(23C)(vi) of the Act. The Tribunal was presented with a previous case where it was held that no appeal against the Chief Commissioner's order under section 10(23C) can be filed before the Tribunal. The assessee and their authorized representative agreed with this submission. The Tribunal referenced a previous case involving Sanskruti Samraksha Charitable Trust where it was determined that there is no provision for filing an appeal against an order passed under section 10(23C) of the IT Act. The Tribunal concluded that since the appeal was not maintainable before them, it was dismissed in line with the previous judgment. The appeal of the assessee was consequently dismissed, following the precedent set by the Tribunal in the case of Sanskruti Sanraksha Charitable Trust. The order was pronounced on April 10, 2015, at Ahmedabad.