2015 (6) TMI 671 - AT - Income Tax

Tribunal dismisses revenue's appeal for not meeting monetary limits, citing CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014.

The Tribunal dismissed the revenue's appeal as it did not meet the prescribed monetary limits for filing appeals before the ITAT, based on CBDT ... Prescribed monetary limits for filing of appeal before ITAT - Whether, this appeal of revenue, which is below the prescribed limit of tax effect in view of the Board’s Instruction No.5/2014 issued on 10.07.2014 revising the monetary limits for filing of appeals by the Department before ITAT is maintainable or not? - Held that:- On query from the Bench, the Ld. DR could not point out any of the exceptions as provided in the Circular as that this is a loss case having tax effect more than the prescribed limit, which should be taken into account,or that this is a composite order for many assessment years where tax effect will be more than the prescribed limit as per para 5 of above instructions, or that this is a case, where, in the case of revenue, where constitutional validity of the provision of the Act or I.T. Rules 1962 are under challenge,or that Board’s order, Notification, Instruction or Circular has been held to be illegal or ultra vires, or that Revenue Audit Objection in the case has been accepted by the Department and the same is under challenge. The Ld. DR could not point out any of the exceptions as provided above. Accordingly, this being a low tax effect case, the appeal of the revenue dismissed in limine without going into merits. - Decided against revenue. Issues Involved:1. Maintainability of the appeal based on the prescribed monetary limits for filing appeals before ITAT.2. Retrospective or prospective application of CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014.Detailed Analysis:1. Maintainability of the Appeal Based on Prescribed Monetary Limits:The primary issue in this case is whether the appeal filed by the revenue is maintainable given that the tax effect is below the prescribed monetary limits for filing appeals before the ITAT. The revenue's appeal involved a quantum of Rs. 10,00,000/- with a total tax effect below Rs. 4 lakhs, relating to the Assessment Year 2005-06. The Ld. Counsel for the assessee argued that the appeal is not maintainable as per the recent Instruction No. 5/2014 issued by CBDT on 10.07.2014, which revised the monetary limits for filing appeals before ITAT to Rs. 4 lakhs. The Tribunal examined the facts and circumstances of the case and referred to various judicial precedents, including the Hon'ble Delhi High Court in CIT Vs M/s. P. S. Jain & Co., and the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court in CIT v. Sureshchandra Durgaprasad Khatod (HUF), which supported the view that the monetary limits prescribed by the CBDT are applicable to pending cases as well.2. Retrospective or Prospective Application of CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014:The revenue's representative, Ld. SR-DR, contended that the Instruction No. 5/2014 should apply prospectively to appeals filed on or after 10.07.2014 and not to those filed prior to this date. However, the Tribunal, after considering the judicial precedents and the objective of reducing pending litigation with minimal tax effect, concluded that the instruction should apply retrospectively. The Tribunal cited the consistent view of various High Courts, including the Hon'ble Gujarat High Court and the Hon'ble Bombay High Court, which have held that similar instructions issued by the CBDT would apply to pending cases as well. The Tribunal emphasized that the main objective of such instructions is to reduce the burden of low-value litigation on the courts and the department.Conclusion:The Tribunal found that none of the exceptions provided in the CBDT circular, such as cases involving constitutional validity, Board's orders, or Revenue Audit objections, were applicable to this case. Consequently, the appeal of the revenue was dismissed in limine due to the low tax effect, without delving into the merits of the case.Order:The appeal of the revenue is dismissed. The order was pronounced in the open court.