Appeal Dismissed under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme for Tax Dispute Settlement

The Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal filed by the Revenue against the CIT(A) order as not maintainable, as the assessee opted to settle the tax dispute under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020. The Tribunal noted that the scheme provides for automatic withdrawal of pending appeals upon settlement of tax disputes. Since the assessee had completed all necessary processes for settlement, the appeal was allowed to be withdrawn without objection from the Revenue. The Tribunal granted liberty to the assessee to seek restoration of the appeal if the settlement application did not conclude successfully.

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Issues:
Appeal against CIT(A) order, Settlement under Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020, Maintainability of appeal post-settlement.

Analysis:
The appeal before the Appellate Tribunal was filed by the Revenue against the Order passed by the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-I, Jabalpur, which partly allowed the assessee's appeal challenging the assessment under section 143(3) of the Income Tax Act, 1961 for the assessment year 2011-12. The appellant, represented by Sh. Bardia, informed the Tribunal that the assessee had opted for settling its tax dispute under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020. Although the Certificate in Form 5, signifying the final settlement of the tax under dispute, had not been issued due to technical issues, the assessee's application under the scheme had been accepted and approved by the competent authority.

During the hearing, it became evident that the assessee no longer intended to pursue the appeal but sought to settle the tax dispute under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020. The Tribunal noted that the said Act provides for an alternative dispute resolution mechanism for taxpayers and automatically vacates any pending appeal upon settlement of the tax dispute under the scheme. As all necessary processes for settlement had been completed by the assessee, including payment of tax and uploading Form 4 on the Revenue's E-portal, the Tribunal allowed the withdrawal of the appeal. The Revenue did not object to this request, and the appeal was deemed not maintainable before the Tribunal.

Consequently, the Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal as not maintainable, granting liberty to the assessee to move the Tribunal for restoration of the appeal if the application under the Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020 did not reach its logical conclusion for any reason. The order was pronounced in the open court on February 3, 2022.

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