TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2018 (2) TMI 879
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....urnable on 30.01.2018. On 30.01.2018, the matters were adjourned to 07.02.2018. However, on 31.01.2018, a request was made for listing the matters for hearing today, that is, on 01.02.2018, as the property of the applicant, which had been attached by the revenue, was sought to be auctioned on 02.02.2018. Accordingly, the matters were listed for hearing today. 3. Mr. S.N. Soparkar, Senior Advocate, learned counsel for the applicant submitted that the applicant is ready and willing to pay the entire tax dues in installments within such time as the court may deem fit. As regards the powers of this court to grant interim relief to the appellant, the learned counsel drew the attention of the court to the provisions of subsection (7) of section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961 (hereinafter referred to as the "Act"), to submit that the provisions of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 relating to appeals to the High Court have been made applicable. It was submitted that, therefore this court has ample powers to grant interim relief, if it so deems fit and while doing so it has to keep in mind three established principles, viz. (i) prima facie case, (ii) balance of convenience and (iii) i....
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....tral Excise, Chandan Nagar v. Dunlop India Ltd. & Ors., (1985) 154 I.T.R. 172, wherein the court has observed that it has come across cases where the collection of public revenue has been seriously jeopardised and budgets of Governments and Local Authorities affirmatively prejudiced to the point of precariousness consequent upon interim orders made by courts. The court observed that there are, of course, cases which demand that interim orders should be made in the interest of justice. Where gross violations of the law and injustices are perpetrated or are about to be perpetrated, it is the bounden duty of the court to intervene and give appropriate interim relief. In cases where denial of interim relief may lead to public mischief, grave irreparable private injury or shake a citizen's faith in the impartiality of public administration, a court may well be justified in granting interim relief against public authority. But since the law presumes that public authorities function properly and bona fide with due regard to the public interest, the court must be circumspect in granting interim orders of far reaching dimensions or orders causing administrative, burdensome inconvenience....
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....due hardship. This is a matter within the special knowledge of the applicant for waiver and has to be established by him. A mere assertion about undue hardship would not be sufficient. The attention of the court was invited to the averments made in the application of stay to submit that there are no specific averments with regard to the undue hardship that may be caused to the applicant, if the interim relief as prayed is not granted. 4.4 Reliance was also placed upon the decision of this court in the case of R. Laxmichand and Co. & Ors. v. Union of India & Ors., (1990) 184 ITR 376 wherein it has been held that in taxation matters, ordinarily, an interim relief staying the recovery of amount of tax should not be granted. The court held that in the courts, the Governments - local, State and Central - merely represent the community. In taxation matters, ordinarily, the Government has not to plead its own case. In such cases, it pleads the case of the community. In some cases, the Government might be defending the action or decision of a particular officer effecting certain individuals or class of individuals. But the cases in which the Government itself has to protect the interest....
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.... specific condition for making out a case of undue hardship and hence, the said decisions would not be applicable to the facts of the present case. It is urged that the applicant is not shying away from making payment under the order impugned in the appeal, and is only seeking installments for making payment of the entire outstanding demand. It was submitted that having regard to the fact that the applicant had made out a prima facie case, and the balance of convenience being in favour of the applicant and has shown that irreparable injury would be caused to it if the interim relief as prayed for is not granted, the applications deserve to be allowed by staying the implementation and operation of the impugned order subject to such terms and conditions as the court may deem fit. 6. In the backdrop of the above referred rival contentions, the question as to whether or not the applicant is entitled to the grant of any interim relief is required to be examined. The facts as emerging from the record reveal that the applicant had made prayer for grant of installments for payment of outstanding demand in relation to assessment years 2010-11 and 201314 before the Principal Commissioner ....
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.... the applicant ultimately succeeds in the appeals, it would be impossible to restore the land to the applicant. Evidently, therefore, irreparable injury would be caused to the applicant in case the property is sold. 9. As regards the decisions on which the reliance has been placed by the learned counsel for the revenue, the Supreme Court in the case of Assistant Collector of Central Excise, Chandan Nagar v. Dunlop India Ltd. & Ors. (supra) has not laid down any absolute proposition that in no case interim orders should pass where public revenue is concerned. The court has observed that in cases where denial of interim relief may lead to public mischief, grave irreparable private injury or shake a citizen's faith in the impartiality of public administration, the court may well be justified in granting interim relief against public authority. The court has referred to its earlier decision in the case of Siliguri Municipality v. Amalendu Das, [1984] 146 ITR 624 (S.C.) wherein the court had observed that the main purpose of passing an interim order is to evolve a workable formula or a workable arrangement to the extent called for by the demands of the situation keeping in mind t....