Court Orders Lifting of Bank Attachments After Petitioner Pays 20% of Tax Liabilities; Accounts to Be Operated Freely.

The court directed the lifting of bank attachments on the petitioner's accounts for tax liabilities from Assessment Years 2015-16 and 2021-22, as the petitioner had paid over 20% of the tax liabilities, meeting the criteria for an automatic stay of recovery proceedings. The respondent was instructed to process the stay applications considering the payments made. The court noted the petitioner could still file an appeal since the appeal period had not expired. The respondent-bank was ordered to allow the petitioner to operate their accounts, and the writ petitions were disposed of accordingly.

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Issues involved:
The judgment involves a petition to direct the 3rd respondent to remove attachments on the petitioner's bank accounts in relation to outstanding tax demands for the Assessment Year 2015-16 and 2021-22.

Assessment Year 2015-16:
The assessment order for 2015-16 quantified the tax liability as Rs. 1,76,92,890. The petitioner had paid around Rs. 62,00,000, which is approximately 30% of the total tax liability. The petitioner filed a stay application to lift the attachment order, which was not disposed of by the respondent. The court acknowledged that once 20% of the tax liability is paid, recovery proceedings should be stayed automatically. Since the petitioner had paid more than 20%, the court lifted the bank attachment and directed the respondent to consider the payment made by the petitioner.

Assessment Year 2021-22:
For the assessment year 2021-22, the tax liability was quantified as Rs. 37,15,329. The petitioner had also paid a portion of this liability. The court noted that the petitioner had paid around 30% of the total tax liability, which meets the criteria for stay of recovery proceedings. As a result, the court lifted the bank attachment issued by the respondent and instructed the respondent to process the stay application considering the payment made by the petitioner.

Appeal Possibility:
The court observed that the time limit for filing an appeal had not expired since the impugned order was passed recently. The court stated that the petitioner, having paid 30% of the tax liability, could file an appeal if desired, and there should be no impediment for the appellate authority to entertain the appeal.

Operational Bank Accounts:
The court directed the respondent-bank to allow the petitioner to operate their accounts upon production of the court order. The writ petitions were disposed of with these directions, and the connected miscellaneous petitions were closed without any costs.

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