Pending appeal bars refund claim for adjusted tax amount, while expeditious disposal of the appeal may be directed.

Refund of an amount already adjusted against a disputed tax demand was not entertained while the underlying appeal remained pending, because the adjustment had been taken into account for obtaining stay in those appellate proceedings; the claim was left open to be raised after the appeal is decided. The Court also found it appropriate to secure expeditious adjudication of the long-pending appeal and directed the appellate authority to dispose of it within a reasonable time, preferably within four months. Limited relief was therefore granted only by way of time-bound disposal of the pending appeal, not by immediate refund.

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Issues: (i) Whether the petitioner could seek refund of the amount adjusted against the disputed demand for the earlier assessment year while the appellate proceedings on the assessment year 2012-13 were still pending; (ii) whether a direction was warranted to the appellate authority to dispose of the pending appeal within a time frame.

Issue (i): Whether the petitioner could seek refund of the amount adjusted against the disputed demand for the earlier assessment year while the appellate proceedings on the assessment year 2012-13 were still pending.

Analysis: The adjustment of the earlier refund was stated to have been taken into account for obtaining stay against the disputed demand in the pending appellate proceedings. In that setting, raising a refund claim for the same amount before the appeal was decided was considered inappropriate. The claim was left open to be agitated after disposal of the appeal.

Conclusion: The refund claim was declined at this stage.

Issue (ii): Whether a direction was warranted to the appellate authority to dispose of the pending appeal within a time frame.

Analysis: The appeal had remained pending for a considerable period, and the Revenue did not oppose a request for expeditious disposal. In those circumstances, a time-bound direction was considered appropriate to ensure adjudication of the pending appeal.

Conclusion: The appellate authority was directed to dispose of the pending appeal within a reasonable time, preferably within four months.

Final Conclusion: The proceeding was disposed of with limited relief to the petitioner by securing early disposal of the pending appeal, while the prayer for refund at that stage was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: A refund claim in respect of an amount already treated as adjusted against a disputed tax demand should not be entertained while the underlying appeal remains pending, though the court may direct expeditious disposal of the appeal.

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