TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (3) TMI 676
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.... Thus, the appeal from the order of Banglore Bench of the Tribunal would lie before the Karnataka High Court and not before this Court. In support of his submission, he placed reliance upon Chapter XX of the Act and, in particular Section 260A and 269 of the Act. 4. In response, Mr. Tejveer Singh, the learned counsel appearing in support of the appeal states that this Court would alone have jurisdiction, in view of the facts giving rise to the present appeal. Our attention was drawn to the following facts:- (a). The order of the Tribunal at Banglore was passed on 30.7.2015; (b). On 8.9.2015, an order was passed under Section 127 of the Act transferring the respondent assessee's case from an Assessing Officer at Banglore to an Assessing Officer at Pune; (c). This appeal was filed in this Court on 4.1.2006. On the aforesaid facts, it is submitted that this Court will alone have jurisdiction to deal with the respondent assesssee's case. This at the Assessment proceedings of the respondent are now in Mumbai consequent to the order dated 8th September, 2015 passed under Section 127 of the Act. 5. On the aforesaid facts, Mr. Tejveer Singh, for the Revenue in suppor....
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....ar, the learned counsel appearing for the respondent contests the submission of the appellant while submitting that this Court would not have jurisdiction to entertain the appeal for the following reasons:- (a). The appeal to the High Courts are governed by Chapter XX of the Act. In particular, Section 260A of the Act which provides for appeal to the High Court from every order passed in appeal by the Tribunal. Section 269 of the Act, for the purpose of Chapter XX of the Act defines the High Court of the State. Therefore, the above Section 269 of the Act would decide the High Court to which appeal would lie under Section 260A of the Act; (b) Section 127 of the Act only deals with the jurisdiction of the authorities under the Act. It cannot control/ decide and/or determine which High Court will be the appellate forum to challenge the orders of the Tribunal. This, particularly, when there are specific provisions in the Act dealing with appeals to the High Court; and (c). In any event, this very issue was the subject matter of consideration before Punjab & Haryana High Court in the case of CIT Vs. Motorola India Ltd.(2010) 326 ITR 156, and Calcutta High Court in the case of C....
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.... shall exercise all or any of the powers and perform all or any of the functions conferred on, or, as the case may be, assigned to such authorities by or under this Act in accordance with such directions as the Board may issue for the exercise of the powers and performance of the functions by all or any of those authorities. Explanation.-For the removal of doubts, it is hereby declared that any income-tax authority, being an authority higher in rank, may, if so directed by the Board, exercise the powers and perform the functions of the income-tax authority lower in rank and any such direction issued by the Board shall be deemed to be a direction issued under sub-section (1). (2) The directions of the Board under sub-section (1) may authorise any other income-tax authority to issue orders in writing for the exercise of the powers and performance of the functions by all or any of the other income-tax authorities who are subordinate to it. (3) In issuing the directions or orders referred to in sub-sections (1) and (2), the Board or other income-tax authority authorised by it may have regard to any one or more of the following criteria, namely :- (a) territoria....
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....reunder to the Assessing Officer shall be deemed to be references to such higher authority and any provision of this Act requiring approval or sanction of any such authority shall not apply. (6) Notwithstanding anything contained in any direction or order issued under this section, or in Section 124, the Board may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that for the purpose of furnishing of the return of income or the doing of any other act or thing under this Act or any rule made thereunder by any person or class of persons, the income-tax authority exercising and performing the powers and functions in relation to the said person or class of persons shall be such authority as may be specified in the notification." Section 124 of the Act deals with jurisdiction of the Assessing Officers and is as under:- "Jurisdiction of Assessing Officers. 124. (1) Where by virtue of any direction or order issued under sub-Section (1) or sub-Section (2) of Section 120, the Assessing Officer has been vested with jurisdiction over any area, within the limits of such area, he shall have jurisdiction- (a) in respect of any person carrying on a business or profession, if t....
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.... month from the date on which he was served with a notice under sub-Section (1) of Section 153A or sub-Section (2) of Section 153C or after the completion of the assessment, whichever is earlier.] (4) Subject to the provisions of sub-Section (3), where an assessee calls in question the jurisdiction of an Assessing Officer, then the Assessing Officer shall, if not satisfied with the correctness of the claim, refer the matter for determination under sub-Section (2) before the assessment is made. (5) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Section or in any direction or order issued under Section 120, every Assessing Officer shall have all the powers conferred by or under this Act on an Assessing Officer in respect of the income accruing or arising or received within the area, if any, over which he has been vested with jurisdiction by virtue of the directions or orders issued under sub-Section (1) or sub-Section (2) of Section 120.]" Section 127 of the Act deals with power to transfer cases and is as under:- "Power to transfer cases. (1) The [Principal Director General or] Director General or [Principal Chief Commissioner or] Chief Commissioner or [Principal Commissi....
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.... The transfer of a case under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) may be made at any stage of the proceedings, and shall not render necessary the re-issue of any notice already issued by the Assessing Officer or Assessing Officers from whom the case is transferred. Explanation.-In section 120 and this section, the word "case", in relation to any person whose name is specified in any order or direction issued thereunder, means all proceedings under this Act in respect of any year which may be pending on the date of such order or direction or which may have been completed on or before such date, and includes also all proceedings under this Act which may be commenced after the date of such order or direction in respect of any year." 9. Chapter XX of the Act deals with Appeals and Revisions. Part 'CC' thereof, deals with Appeals to High Court and Section 260A and Section 269 of the Act are a thereof. Section 260A of the Act is as under: "Appeal to High Court. 260A.(1) An appeal shall lie to the High Court from every order passed in appeal by the Appellate Tribunal [before the date of establishment of the National Tax Tribunal], if the High Court is satisfied t....
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....n to any State, the High Court for that State ; (ii) in relation to the Union territory of Delhi, the High Court of Delhi ; (iia) [***] (iii) [***] (iv) in relation to the Union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, the High Court at Calcutta ; (v) in relation to the Union territory of Lakshadweep, the High Court of Kerala ; (va) in relation to the Union territory of Chandigarh, the High Court of Punjab and Haryana ; (vi) in relation to the Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, the High Court at Bombay ; and (vii) in relation to the Union territory of Pondicherry, the High Court at Madras." 10. An examination of the above provisions, would reveal that Chapter XIII of the Act deals with the Income Tax Authorities. Part-A of Chapter XIII of the Act deals with their appointment and control, Part B of Chapter XIII of the Act deals with the jurisdiction of the Authorities under the Act and Part C deals with the powers of the Authorities under the Act as specified in Part A of Chapter XIII. Section 116 of the Act exhaustively lists out the classes of Income Tax Authorities under th....
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.... in relation to any State, the High Court of that State. Therefore, the seat of the Tribunal (in which State) would decide the jurisdiction of the Court to which the appeal would lie under the Act. Thus, in the present facts, the High Court which would have jurisdiction over the place where the Tribunal (when not exercising jurisdiction over more than one State) is situated and passed the order. Therefore, in the facts of this case, on the bare examination of the provisions, it would be clear that in case of orders passed by the Banglore Bench of the Tribunal, appeal from such orders would lie only to the Karnataka High Court at Bangalore. 13. The submission on behalf of the Revenue that the seat of the Assessing Officer alone would decide the jurisdiction of the High Court on the basis of Section 127 of the Act, is misplaced. This for the reasons that the bare reading of the provisions show that the Court to which appeal would lie is not governed by the seat of the Assessing Officer. It for this reason that, the Income Tax Appellate Tribunal (ITAT) Rules specifically provides in Rule 4(i) thereof, the Bench which shall hear the appeals, filed before it in terms of Section 253 o....
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....In the above view, in the present facts, the Tribunal which passed the impugned order is situated in Bangalore. Therefore, the Tribunal would be bound by the orders passed by the Karnataka High Court at Bangalore. However, it is likely that there could be divergence of opinion between two High Courts on a particular issue, one view by the Court where the Tribunal is situated i.e. Bangalore and the other view by the Court where the Assessing Officer is now situated i.e. Pune, leading to an incongruous situation. On what paramaters would the High Court to which an appeal is filed on the basis of where the seat of the transferee Assessing Officer is situated by virtue of Section 127 of the Act would apply to the order of the Tribunal passed at seat of the transferor Assessing Officer in this case by the Bangalore Bench of the Tribunal. Thus, the Parliament keeping in view the fact that, all Authorities/ Tribunals functioning within a particular State are bound by the view of the High Court of that State. This has been so provided in terms of Section 260A read with 269 of the Act. It is, therefore, for the above reason that the orders passed by the Tribunal are subject to an ....
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.... Act in respect of any year' occurring in the Explanation cannot be understood in vacuum and cannot be stretched to cover reference applications already filed or decided by the date of transfer under Section 127." The situation would not be different while dealing with the appeal under Section 260A of the Act. We are in respectful agreement with the decision of the Andhra Pradesh in the case of Parke Davis (I) Ltd (supra). Therefore, in our view, Section 127 of the Act and explanation thereto only apply to the authorities listed under Section 116 of the Act and exercising jurisdiction under the Act. It can have no application to the High Court constituted under the Constitution. 16. We shall now examine the various decisions cited at the bar and its applicability to the present facts. The decision in the case of Sahara India Financial Corp Ltd (supra) relied by the Revenue proceeded on the explanation to Section 127(4) of the Act to hold that where the assessment proceedings were transferred from Lucknow to Delhi, it would only be the Delhi High Court which could entertain an appeal from the order of the Tribunal after the date of transfer of assessment proceedings under ....