Tribunal rectifies oversight in previous order, recalls to address specific ground under Income Tax Act

The Tribunal acknowledged an oversight in failing to address ground No. 20 regarding the non-exclusion of CFC grant from total income in its previous order for AY 2002-03. Recognizing the mistake under section 254(2) of the Income Tax Act, the Tribunal recalled its order solely to address this specific ground while leaving the rest of the order unchanged. The Tribunal allowed the assessee's application for rectification, scheduling a hearing to address the crucial issue raised by the assessee without issuing further notice to the parties.

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Issues:
Rectification of order passed by Tribunal regarding non-exclusion of CFC grant from total income for AY 2002-03.

Analysis:
The assessee filed a miscellaneous application seeking rectification of the Tribunal's order dated 17-10-2018 for AY 2002-03, specifically related to ground No. 20 concerning the non-exclusion of CFC grant from total income. The application highlighted that the Tribunal failed to decide this ground, which was crucial for the assessee. The assessee argued that the issue was in their favor based on a previous decision for AY 2001-02. The Tribunal acknowledged the oversight and agreed that the non-adjudication of the specific ground constituted a mistake apparent from the record under section 254(2) of the Income Tax Act, 1961.

The Ld.AR for the assessee contended during the hearing that the Tribunal's order contained an apparent mistake as ground 20 concerning the non-exclusion of CFC grant from total income was not addressed. The Ld.DR representing the department agreed that the order needed rectification under section 254(2) of the Act due to the absence of findings on ground 20. After hearing both parties and reviewing the application and the previous order, the Tribunal recognized the error in not adjudicating ground 20 challenging the non-exclusion of CFC grant from total income. Consequently, the Tribunal decided to recall its previous order dated 17-10-2018 for AY 2002-03 solely for the purpose of addressing ground 20, while the rest of the order remained unchanged.

As a result, the Tribunal allowed the assessee's miscellaneous application, directing the registry to schedule a hearing on 02-07-2019 specifically to address ground No. 20 without issuing any further notice to the parties. The decision to rectify the order was made to ensure the proper adjudication of the crucial issue raised by the assessee regarding the exclusion of the CFC grant from the total income for the relevant assessment year.

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