High Court upholds rejection of petitioner's application under Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020

The High Court dismissed the petition challenging the rejection of the petitioner's application under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020. The rejection was upheld as there was no pending appeal at the time of filing the declaration under the Act, rendering the petitioner ineligible for benefits under the legislation. Despite arguments regarding the interpretation of provisions in the DTVSV Act, the Court found no basis to grant relief due to the absence of any pending appeal or Special Leave Petition against the previous court orders.

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Issues involved:
The impugning of an order of rejection passed by respondents under the Direct Tax Vivad Se Vishwas Act, 2020 (DTVSV Act) regarding the petitioner's application.

Comprehensive Details:

Issue 1: Rejection of application under DTVSV Act
The petitioner filed a return of income for Assessment Year 2001-2002, which was processed under Section 143(1) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. Subsequently, an assessment order under Section 143(3) of the Act was passed, leading to appeals before various authorities. The petitioner filed an appeal impugning the order dated 1st November 2004 passed by CIT(A) and also applied for condonation of delay before the ITAT. The ITAT rejected the condonation of delay application on 28th February 2017. The petitioner then filed an appeal in the High Court, which was dismissed on 28th January 2020. After the DTVSV Act came into force, the petitioner filed a declaration under the Act on 29th June 2020. Despite multiple notifications extending the time limit for availing benefits under the Act, the petitioner's application was rejected on the ground that no appeal was pending before any authority at the time of filing the declaration.

Issue 2: Interpretation of DTVSV Act provisions
The DTVSV Act stipulates that upon filing a declaration, any pending appeal before the ITAT or CIT(A) regarding disputed income, interest, penalty, or tax arrears shall be deemed withdrawn. The Act also requires the withdrawal of any appeal or writ petition against a tax arrear order. The term "appellant" is defined under the Act, with a provision allowing withdrawal of appeals or writ petitions with the leave of the Court. The petitioner's counsel argued that the term "Writ Petition" should encompass "an appeal" as well.

Issue 3: Lack of pending appeal
Despite the petitioner's argument, it was acknowledged that there was no appeal pending in the High Court, and no Special Leave Petition (SLP) had been filed in the Apex Court against the High Court's order dated 28th January 2020. Consequently, the Court deemed further action to be futile and dismissed the petition.

In conclusion, the High Court dismissed the petition as there was no pending appeal at the time of filing the declaration under the DTVSV Act, leading to the rejection of the petitioner's application.

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