Court directs respondent to pass appeal effect orders and determine refunds for multiple years.

The Court directed the respondent to pass appeal effect orders and determine consequential refunds for Assessment Years 1997-98 to 2007-08 within three months from the judgment date, along with applicable statutory interest. The petitioner's assurance to provide further documents promptly was noted. The judgment was to be uploaded on the website immediately, and a copy was to be sent to the counsel via email. The writ petition and application were disposed of with these directions.

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Issues:
1. Direction to pass appeal effect orders and determine consequential refunds for Assessment Years 1997-98 to 2007-08 expeditiously.

Analysis:
The petitioner sought a direction for the respondent to pass appeal effect orders and determine consequential refunds for Assessment Years 1997-98 to 2007-08 promptly. The petitioner argued that as per Section 153(5) of the Income Tax Act, appeal effect orders must be passed within three months of receiving the relevant order. The Income Tax Appellate Tribunal had passed orders in favor of the petitioner for various assessment years, and the time limit under Section 153(5) had expired. The respondent, however, mentioned challenges in verifying the payments due to the age of the assessment years, offline processing, and incomplete data. Despite efforts to obtain documents from the assessee, challenges due to COVID-19, and difficulties in retrieving old records, the respondent assured that refunds for the remaining assessment years would be processed shortly.

The Court directed the respondent to pass appeal effect orders and determine consequential refunds for the mentioned assessment years within three months from the judgment date, along with applicable statutory interest. The petitioner's assurance to provide further documents promptly was noted. The judgment was to be uploaded on the website immediately, and a copy was to be sent to the counsel via email. The writ petition and application were disposed of with these directions.

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