TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2021 (4) TMI 318
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....the Kerala High Court, Madras High Court and Calcutta High Court. 2. Notices were issued in the transfer petitions. A counter affidavit has also been filed by one of the respondents, i.e., respondent No.1. 3. We have heard Shri Arvind Datar, learned senior counsel for the petitioners and Shri R. Basant, learned senior counsel and other counsel appearing for respondents. 4. In the writ petitions, which are sought to be transferred, writ petitioners have challenged validity of Chapter VI of Guidelines No.1CA(7)/02/2008 dated 08.08.2008 issued by the Council of petitioner Institute on the ground that the same is violative of Article 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India. The said Chapter VI of the Guidelines dated 08.08.2008 stipulates that a member of the Institute in practice shall not accept, in a financial year, more than the "specified number of tax audit assignments", which is at present 60 under Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961. Further, Section 22 of the Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 defines "professional or other misconduct" to include any act or omission provided in any of the Schedules to the Act. Clause (1) of Part II of the Second Schedule to the Act st....
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.... all writ petitions be transferred to one High Court instead of transferring petitions to this Court. It is lastly submitted by learned counsel for the respondent that in several writ petitions, various interim orders are operating in favour of the writ petitioners, which may be allowed to continue. 7. We have heard the learned counsel for the parties and have perused the records. 8. Section 44AB of the Income-tax Act, 1961 was inserted in the statute book by the Finance Act, 1984 and the same came into force w.e.f. 01.04.1985. Section 44AB provides that every person carrying on business, if his total sales, turnover or gross receipts exceed Rs. 1 crore, and every person carrying on a profession, if his gross receipts exceed Rs. 50 lakhs, in any previous year, is required to get his accounts of such previous year audited by a Chartered Accountant, and obtain before the specified date, a report of the audit in the prescribed form duly signed and verified by such Chartered Accountant. The said provisions are popularly called "compulsory tax audits". The said Section 44AB had been enacted to prevent evasion of taxes, plug loopholes enabling tax avoidance and also facilitate tax ....
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....tion No.5925 of 1989 - K. Bhagavatheeswaran Vs. Vs. Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and Ors., which judgment was also confirmed by the Division Bench in a writ appeal. 11. The Chartered Accountants Act, 1949 was amended by the Parliament by the Chartered Accountants (Amendment) Act, 2006, after which amendment, the erstwhile Notifications were superseded by Guidelines dated 08.08.2008. After the above Guidelines, this Court by order dated 01.04.2013 dismissed the Civil Appeal Nos.7208-7209 of 2005 having become infructuous, which order was to the following effect:- "In view of the above, we do not propose to hear the appeals on merit and the same are dismissed as having become infructuous. However, in case any member is aggrieved of the existing guidelines and files a representation before the appellant, the appellant shall consider it and pass appropriate order, and if any member is aggrieved thereof whether he has made representation or not, would have right to challenge it before the appropriate forum." 12. After issuance of the Guidelines dated 08.08.2008, various writ petitions have been filed in different High Courts, details of various writ petitio....
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....ary proceeding against the writ petitioner therein. 14. Learned counsel for the respondents have also relied on the judgment of this Court in Institute of Chartered Accountants of India versus Southern Petrochemical Industries Corporation Limited and another, (2007) 15 SCC 649, in which case the Transfer petition was filed in this Court by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India for transferring writ petitions filed in different High Courts challenging Constitutional validity of paragraph 33 of Accounting Standard 22 framed by Institute of Chartered Accountant of India. This Court allowed the Transfer petition and directed all the writ petitions to be heard by Calcutta High Court. Learned counsel for the respondent submits that this Court may consider transferring all the writ petitions to any one High Court in the present matter also. 15. The fact that this Court on 03.04.1991 had dismissed the Transfer Petition Nos.614-615 of 1990 observing that the concerned High Courts may dispose of the writ petition on early date cannot be treated any kind of bar in transferring the writ petition in the present batch of cases. At the time when the earlier transfer petition was d....