Court orders release of seized bank accounts pending Tribunal decision, prohibits coercive measures The High Court directed the immediate release of the petitioner's seized bank accounts by the opposite parties until the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal ...
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Court orders release of seized bank accounts pending Tribunal decision, prohibits coercive measures
The High Court directed the immediate release of the petitioner's seized bank accounts by the opposite parties until the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal decides on the stay application. The court ordered no coercive measures, including bank account seizures, to be taken by the opposite parties until the stay application is resolved, providing temporary relief to the petitioner.
Issues: 1. Dismissal of appeal by CIT (A) against assessment order for 2014-15 and 2015-16. 2. Seizure of petitioner's bank accounts by opposite parties. 3. Disputed amount seized from petitioner's bank accounts. 4. Pending appeal before Income Tax Appellate Tribunal. 5. Application for interim relief before the Tribunal. 6. Opposite parties' justification for seizing bank accounts. 7. Decision of the High Court regarding coercive measures.
Analysis: 1. The petitioner's appeal against the assessment order for the years 2014-15 and 2015-16 was dismissed by the CIT (A), leading to a further challenge before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, Lucknow, which is currently pending. The petitioner had paid 20% of the assessed tax while filing the appeal before the CIT.
2. The opposite parties, in an alleged arbitrary manner, seized the bank accounts of the petitioner, causing significant hardship. An amount of Rs. 53,33,55,784 was already taken from the petitioner's accounts, prompting the petitioner to seek relief from the High Court.
3. The counsel for the opposite parties argued that since the appeal was dismissed and no interim protection was granted by the Tribunal, they had the authority to take steps for recovering the outstanding tax, including seizing the bank accounts.
4. The High Court acknowledged that the matter was pending before the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal, with a stay application also pending and listed for a future date. Considering the pending application for interim relief, the High Court directed that no coercive measures, including bank account seizures, should be taken by the opposite parties until the stay application was resolved.
5. Therefore, the High Court ordered the immediate release of the petitioner's bank accounts by the opposite parties until the disposal of the stay application. The writ petition was disposed of with these observations, providing temporary relief to the petitioner pending the Tribunal's decision on the stay application.
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