TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2024 (8) TMI 1601
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....sed to file his income tax returns for the assessment year 2022-23.The said Chidananda -assessee did not file his Income tax returns and expired on 14.08.2022. Subsequent to which, the petitioner submitted an application on 23.03.2023 under Section 119(2)(b) of the I.T Act seeking condonation of delay in filing the I.T returns for the assessment year 2022-23 as the legal heir of her husband. Petitioner contended that her husband had received a sum of Rs.1,26,71,726/- from the SLAO - NHAI as compensation towards acquisition and a sum of Rs.12,67,173/- had been deducted by way of TDS towards income tax. It was contended that the said deduction was illegal and contrary to Section 96 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (for short 'the RFCTLARR Act) and that the delay in filing the I.T Returns by her husband was due to bonafide reasons, unavoidable circumstances and sufficient cause and as such, her aforesaid application for condonation of delay deserves to be allowed and the I.T return deserves to be accepted from exempting payment of Income tax on the aforesaid compensation. 2.1 In the first instance, the....
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....5. My attention is also invited to Section 105(3) of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013 r/w the Fourth Schedule to the said Act as well as the Notifications, Guidelines, Circulars, Orders etc., passed by the Central Government / Highway Authorities, including Gazette Notification dated 28.08.2015, which makes the said Act applicable to the National Highways Act which is notified as item No.7 in the Fourth Schedule. It is therefore contended, that the impugned order passed by the 2nd respondent deserves to be set aside and the application for condonation of delay filed by the petitioner deserves to be allowed by exempting the petitioner from payment of income tax and also from deduction of TDS. 6. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondents would support the impugned order and submit that there is no merit in the petition and the same is liable to be dismissed. 7. A perusal of the impugned order indicate that the various aforesaid contentions urged on behalf of the petitioner regarding condonation of delay and exemption from payment of income tax and from deduction of TDS have not been considered or appreciated by the 2nd respondent while passing the impugned order, which ....
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....a and that Writ petition was allowed 12.03.2024 by setting aside the order passed on 16.01.2024 and instructed appear before the Hon'ble Presiding officer with the additional documents and pleadings. SUBMISSION 1. The findings made in the order No. ITBA/COM/F/17/202324/1059768055 Saka (1) passed by the Hon'ble Chief commissioner of Income tax, CCIT-01 dated 16.01.2024 shall be read as part of this submission. (Annexure-01) 2. The applicability of RFCTLARR 2013 is clearly mentioned in the section 02 of the Act, "Section 2. Application of Act.-(1) The provisions of this Act relating to land acquisition, compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement, shall apply, when the appropriate Government acquires land for its own use, hold and control, including for Public Sector Undertakings and for public purpose, and shall include the following purposes, namely- (a) for strategic purposes relating to naval, military, air force, and armed forces of the Union, including central paramilitary forces or any work vital to national security or defence of India or State police, safety of the people; or (b) for infrastructure projects, which includes the following, ....
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....h such exceptions or modifications that do not reduce the compensation or dilute. the provisions of this Act relating to compensation or rehabilitation and resettlement as may be specified in the notification, as the case may be. Hence it is concluded that the RFCTLARR Act, 2013 is not applicable to the compensation received under The National Highways Act, 1956 (48 of 1956) due to forth schedule of section 105(3) of RFCTLARR Act, 2013 7. But Section 105 (2) R/W Section 106 of the RFCTLARR Act, 2013the provides the power to Central Government may, by notification, omit or add to any of the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule. The central government using the provisions of Section 105 (2) and section 106 of RFCTLARR Act, 2013 central government as amended the 105 (3) and removed the schedule four by passing the Ordinance on 03.04.2015 through Gazette Notification, which makes clear that the provisions of third schedule is applicable to the enactments relating to land acquisition specified in the Fourth Schedule with effect from 1st January, 2015. These amendments make it clear that the compensation received under The National Highways Act, 1956 (48 of 1956) which is....
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.... the petitioner and learned counsel for the respondent and perused the material on record. 4. In addition to reiterating the various contentions urged in the petition and referring to the material on record, learned counsel for the petitioner submits that the impugned order is contrary to facts and law warranting interference in the present petition. In support of his contentions, learned counsel for the petitioner placed reliance upon the following decisions:- (i) National Highways Authority of India v. P Nagaraju @ Chheluvaiah Civil Appeal No. 4671 of 2022 dated 11/07/2022 (ii) M/s Vishwanathan M v. The Chief Commissioner of Income Tax and Others in W.P No. 3227 of 2020 dated 18/02/2020 (ker) (iii) Raghavan Nair v. ACIT 89 taxmann.com 212 (ker). (iv) Sharanappa v. Deputy Commissioner, Raichur (2023) 153 taxmann.com 685 (Karnataka) (31/05/2023) W.P No 201497 of 2023 (LA-RES) (v) Meharwade Vishnu v. CIT (TDS) in WP No. 103375 of 2017 and connected matters dated 12/04/2023. (vi) Vellara Francis Thomas v. Union of India (2024) 162 taxmann.com 68 (Karnataka) (27/02/2024). 5. Per contra, learned counsel for the respondent-reve....
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....ear from the date of commencement of this Act, direct that any of the provisions of this Act relating to the determination of compensation in accordance with the First Schedule and rehabilitation and resettlement specified in the Second and Third Schedules, being beneficial to the affected families, shall apply to the cases of land acquisition under the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule or shall apply with such exceptions or modifications that do not reduce the compensation or dilute the provisions of this Act relating to compensation or rehabilitation and resettlement as may be specified in the notification, as the case may be. (4) A copy of every notification proposed to be issued under sub-section (3), shall be laid in draft before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in disapproving the issue of the notification or both Houses agree in making any modification in the notification, the notification shall not be....
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....y reason of such acquisition an amount calculated at ten per cent, of the amount determined under sub-section (1), for that land. (3) Before proceeding to determine the amount under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2), the competent authority shall give a public notice published in two local newspapers, one of which will be in a vernacular language inviting claims from all persons interested in the land to be acquired. (4) Such notice shall state the particulars of the land and shall require all persons interested in such land to appear in person or by an agent or by a legal practitioner referred to in sub-section (2) of section 3C, before the competent authority, at a time and place and to state the nature of their respective interest in such land. (5) If the amount determined by the competent authority under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) is not acceptable to either of the parties, the amount shall, on an application by either of the parties, be determined by the arbitrator to be appointed by the Central Government- (6) Subject to the provisions of this Act, the provisions of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996 (26 of 1996) shall appl....
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....dia promulgated an Ordinance known as " Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Amendment) Ordinance 2014". Clause 10 of the said Ordinance substituted Section 105(3) as hereunder:- "10. In the principal Act, in Section 105- (i) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely- '(3) The provisions of this Act relating to the determination of compensation in accordance with the First Schedule, rehabilitation and resettlement in accordance with the Second Schedule and infrastructure amenities in accordance with the Third Schedule shall apply to the enactments relating to land acquisition specified in the Fourth Schedule with effect from 1-1-2015;' (ii) sub-section (4) shall be omitted." 7.7 Subsequently, on 03.04.2015, one more Ordinance known as "RFCTLARR (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015" was promulgated, in which, clause 12 substituted Section 105(3) as hereunder:- "12. In the principal Act, in Section 105- (i) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely- '(3) The provisions of this Act relating....
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....ion to make the provisions of the Act relating to the determination of the compensation, rehabilitation and resettlement applicable to cases of land acquisition under the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule to the RFCTLARR Act; And whereas, the notification envisaged under sub-section (3) of Section 105 of the RFCTLARR Act was not issued, and the RFCTLARR (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014 (9 of 2014) was promulgated on 31-12-2014, thereby, inter alia, amending Section 105 of the RFCTLARR Act to extend the provisions of the Act relating to the determination of the compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement to cases of land acquisition under the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule to the RFCTLARR Act; And whereas, the RFCTLARR (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (4 of 2015) was promulgated on 3-4-2015 to give continuity to the provisions of the RFCTLARR (Amendment) Ordinance, 2014; And whereas, the RFCTLARR (Amendment) Second Ordinance, 2015 (5 of 2015) was promulgated on 30-5-2015 to give continuity to the provisions of the RFCTLARR (Amendment) Ordinance, 2015 (4 of 2015); And whereas, the replacement Bill relating to the RFCTLARR (A....
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....id Act. [F. No. 13011/01/2014-LRD] K.P. Krishnan, Addl. Secy." 7.10 In pursuance of the aforesaid Ordinances, Notifications, Orders etc., the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways, Government of India, addressed a communication dated 28.12.2017 clarifying that in respect of awards passed and compensation paid under Section 3G of the N.H.Act after 31.12.2014, the compensation would be payable in accordance with the provisions of the RFCTLARR Act. The relevant portion of the communication dated 28.12.2017, reads as under - 4.6 Date of determination of market value of land (i) Another related but important question is regarding the date on which the market value of land is to be determined in cases where land acquisition proceedings had been initiated under the NH Act, 1956 and were at different stages as on 31.12.2014. While there is no ambiguity regarding land acquisition proceedings initiated on or after 01.01.2015, this question assumes significance in view of the financial implications in respect of cases where the process of acquisition was at different stages as on 01.01.2015,. (ii) Section 26 of the RFCTLARR Act stipulates that....
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....ds, things, matters etc., which are incidental, ancillary and connected to / in relation to payment of compensation would become applicable under the RFCTLARR Act; as a consequence of the same, Section 96 of the RFCTLARR Act, which provides for exemption from payment of income tax / TDS would also be applicable to payment of compensation for acquisition of land under the N.H.Act, which is one of the enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule, to which, the RFCTLARR Act has been made applicable by virtue of the aforesaid Ordinances, Notifications, Orders, Communications etc., referred to supra. 7.12 Under these circumstances, I am of the considered opinion that the respondent clearly fell in error in coming to the conclusion that Section 96 of the RFCTLARR Act, which provides for exemption from payment of income tax was not applicable to the subject compensation paid to the husband of the petitioner for acquisition of his land under the N.H.Act. 7.13 It is well settled that insofar as payment of compensation is concerned under different enactments, the discrimination is impermissible and there has to be parity between land losers in relation to compensation payable to d....
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.... because as far as the owner is concerned it does not matter to him whether the land is acquired by one authority or the other. 30. It is equally immaterial whether it is one Acquisition Act or another Acquisition Act under which the land is acquired. If the existence of two Acts could enable the State to give one owner different treatment from another equally situated the owner who is discriminated against, can claim the protection of Article 14. 31. It was said that if this is the true position the State would find it impossible to clear slums, to do various other laudable things. If this argument were to be accepted it would be totally destructive of the protection given by Article 14. It would enable the State to have one law for acquiring lands for hospital, one law for acquiring lands for schools, one law acquiring lands for clearing slums, another for acquiring lands for Government buildings; one for acquiring lands in New Delhi and another for acquiring lands in Old Delhi. It was said that in many cases, the value of the land has increased not because of any effort by the owner but because of the general development of the city in which the land is situate....
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....e suitable for a hospital or a school for which the said land may be acquired under the principal Act. Nor the financial position or the number of persons owning the land has any relevance, for in both the cases land can be acquired from rich or poor, from one individual or from a number of persons. Out of adjacent lands of the same quality and value, one may be acquired for a housing scheme under the amending Act and the other for a hospital under the principal Act; out of two adjacent plots belonging to the same individual and of the same quality and value, one may be acquired under the principal Act and the other under the amending Act. From whatever aspect the matter is looked at, the alleged differences have no reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved. It is said that the object of the amending Act in itself may project the differences in the lands sought to be acquired under the two Acts. This argument puts the cart before the horse. It is one thing to say that the existing differences between persons and properties have a reasonable relation to the object sought to be achieved and it is totally a different thing to say that the object of the Act itself created....
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....ade on the basis of the public purpose for the purpose of compensation for which land is acquired? In other words, can the legislature lay down different principles of compensation for lands acquired say for a hospital or a school or a government building? Can the legislature say that for a hospital land will be acquired at 50% of the market value, for a school at 60% of the value and for a government building at 70% of the market value? All three objects are public purposes and as far as the owner is concerned it does not matter to him whether it is one public purpose or the other. Article 14 confers an individual right and in order to justify a classification there should be something which justifies a different treatment to this individual right. It seems to us that ordinarily a classification based on the public purpose is not permissible under Article 14 for the purpose of determining compensation. The position is different when the owner of the land himself is the recipient of benefits from an improvement scheme, and the benefit to him is taken into consideration in fixing compensation. Can classification be made on the basis of the authority acquiring the land? In other word....
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....t is one Acquisition Act or another Acquisition Act under which the land is acquired, as, if the existence of these two Acts would enable the State to give one owner different treatment from another who is similarly situated, Article 14 would be infracted. In the facts of these cases, it is clear that from the point of view of the landowner it is immaterial that his land is acquired under the National Highways Act and not the Land Acquisition Act, as solatium cannot be denied on account of this fact alone. 45. Insofar as easementary rights under the Land Acquisition Act are concerned, three sections are relevant and need to be quoted: "3. Definitions.-In this Act, unless there is something repugnant in the subject or context- *** (b) the expression "person interested" includes all persons claiming an interest in compensation to be made on account of the acquisition of land under this Act; and a person shall be deemed to be interested in land if he is interested in an easement affecting the land; *** 9. Notice to persons interested.-(1) The Collector shall then cause public notice to be given at convenient places on or near the l....
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.... incorrect to state that extra amounts are payable to the owner under the National Highways Act, which are not so payable under the Land Acquisition Act. Also, both Acts contemplate payment of compensation to persons whose easementary rights have been affected by the acquisition. In any event, this contention cannot possibly answer non-payment of solatium and interest under the National Highways Act, which has been dealt with in extenso in this judgment. 46. It is worthy of note that even in acquisitions that take place under the National Highways Act and the 1952 Act, the notification of 2015 under the new Acquisition Act of 2013 makes solatium and interest payable in cases covered by both Acts. In fact, with effect from 1-1-2015, Amendment Ordinance 9 of 2014 was promulgated amending the 2013 Act. Section 10 of the said Amendment Ordinance states as follows: "10. In the principal Act, in Section 105- (i) for sub-section (3), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely- '(3) The provisions of this Act relating to the determination of compensation in accordance with the First Schedule, rehabilitation and resettlement in accordance with....
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....31st day of August, 2015 and thereby placing the landowners at the disadvantageous position, resulting in denial of benefits of enhanced compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement to the cases of land acquisition under the 13 Acts specified in the Fourth Schedule to the RFCTLARR Act as extended to the landowners under the said Ordinance; And whereas, the Central Government considers it necessary to extend the benefits available to the landowners under the RFCTLARR Act to similarly placed landowners whose lands are acquired under the 13 enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule; and accordingly the Central Government keeping in view the aforesaid difficulties has decided to extend the beneficial advantage to the landowners and uniformly apply the beneficial provisions of the RFCTLARR Act, relating to the determination of compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement as were made applicable to cases of land acquisition under the said enactments in the interest of the landowners; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by subsection (1) of Section 113 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Res....
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....re a re-look in the light of this development. [ The Defence of India Act, 1971, was a temporary statute which remained in force only during the period of operation of a proclamation of emergency and for a period of six months thereafter - vide Section 1(3) of the Act. As this Act has since expired, it is not included in the Fourth Schedule of the 2013 Act.] In any case, as has been pointed out hereinabove, Chajju Ram [Union of India v. Chajju Ram, (2003) 5 SCC 568], has been referred to a larger Bench. In this view of the matter, we are of the view that the view of the Punjab and Haryana High Court [Union of India v. Tarsem Singh, 2018 SCC OnLine P&H 6036], [Jang Bahadur v. Union of India, 2018 SCC OnLine P&H 6034], [Union of India v. Abhinav Cotspin Ltd., 2016 SCC OnLine P&H 19319] is correct, whereas the view of the Rajasthan High Court [Banshilal Samariya v. Union of India, 2005 SCC OnLine Raj 572 : 2005-06 Supp RLW 559] is not correct. 51. We were also referred to an order in Sunita Mehra v. Union of India [Sunita Mehra v. Union of India, (2019) 17 SCC 672 : 2016 SCC OnLine SC 1128], in which this Court held : (SCC paras 5-7) "5. The only point agitated befor....
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....mpensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (came into force on 1-1-2014), which Act has been made applicable to acquisitions under the National Highways Act, 1956 by virtue of notification/order issued under the provisions of the 2013 Act." 52. There is no doubt that the learned Solicitor General, in the aforesaid two orders, has conceded the issue raised in these cases. This assumes importance in view of the plea of Shri Divan that the impugned judgments should be set aside on the ground that when the arbitral awards did not provide for solatium or interest, no Section 34 petition having been filed by the landowners on this score, the Division Bench judgments that are impugned before us ought not to have allowed solatium and/or interest. Ordinarily, we would have acceded to this plea, but given the fact that the Government itself is of the view that solatium and interest should be granted even in cases that arise between 1997 and 2015, in the interest of justice we decline to interfere with such orders, given our discretionary jurisdiction under Article 136 of the Constitution of India. We therefore declare that the provisio....
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....other manner would not only seriously burden the public exchequer but would also amount to overlooking the delay that may have occurred on the part of the landowner(s) in approaching the Court and may open floodgates for en masse litigation on the issue. 7. We have considered the submissions advanced. In Gurpreet Singh v. Union of India [Gurpreet Singh v. Union of India, (2006) 8 SCC 457], this Court, though in a different context, had restricted the operation of the judgment of this Court in Sunder v. Union of India [Sunder v. Union of India, (2001) 7 SCC 211] and had granted the benefit of interest on solatium only in respect of pending proceedings. We are of the view that a similar course should be adopted in the present case also. Accordingly, it is directed that the award of solatium and interest on solatium should be made effective only to proceedings pending on the date of the High Court order in Golden Iron & Steel Forging v. Union of India [Golden Iron & Steel Forging v. Union of India, 2008 SCC OnLine P&H 498] i.e. 28-32008. Concluded cases should not be opened. As for future proceedings, the position would be covered by the provisions of the Right to Fair Compen....
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....ose lands are acquired under the 13 enactments specified in the Fourth Schedule; and accordingly the Central Government keeping in view the aforesaid difficulties has decided to extend the beneficial advantage to the landowners and uniformly apply the beneficial provisions of the RFCTLARRAct, relating to the determination of compensation and rehabilitation and resettlement as were made applicable to cases of land acquisition under the said enactments in the interest of the landowners; Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-section (1) of Section 113 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013), the Central Government hereby makes the following Order to remove the aforesaid difficulties, namely- 1. (1) This Order may be called the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement (Removal of Difficulties) Order, 2015. (2) It shall come into force with effect from the 1st day of September, 2015. 2. The provisions of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and....
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....an-limit subject to fulfillment of certain conditions for specified urban land) 2. The RFCTLARR Act which came into effect from 1st January, 2014. in section 96, inter-alia provides that income-tax shall not be levied on any Award or agreement made (except those made under section 46) under the RFCTLARR Act. Therefore, compensation received for compulsory acquisition of land under the RFCTLARR Act (except those made under section 46 of RFCTLARR Act), is exempted from the levy of Income tax. 3. As no distinction has been made between compensation received for compulsory acquisition of agricultural land and non-agricultural land in the matter of providing exemption from income-tax under the RFCTLARR Act the exemption provided under Sec.96 of the RFCTLARR Act is wider in scope than the tax exemption provided under the existing provisions of Income-tax Act. 1961. This has created uncertainty in the matter of taxability of compensation received on compulsory acquisition of land, especially those relating to acquisition of non-agricultural land. The matter has been examined by the board and it is hereby clarified that compensation received in respect of award or agreeme....
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....is context, it is relevant to extract Section 96 of the said Act of 2013, which reads as under:- "96. Exemption from income-tax, stamp duty and fees.- No income tax or stamp duty shall be levied on any award or agreement made under this Act, except under section 46 and no person claiming under any such award or agreement shall be liable to pay any fee for a copy of the same." 11.1 On 25.10.2016, the Central Board of Direct Taxes issued the following Circular clarifying and confirming that though there was no specific provision under the I.T.Act, Section 96 of the said Act of 2013 provides exemption from payment of taxes and deduction of TDS in respect of compensation paid under the said Act of 2013. The said CBDT Circular reads as under:- Circular No.36/2016 Government of India Ministry of Finance Department of Revenue Central Board of Direct Taxes ITA.II Division, North Block, New Delhi, the 25* of October, 2016 Sub : Taxability of the compensation received bythe land owners for the land acquired under the Right of Fair Compensation & Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (RFCTLAAR Ac....
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....ble for paying to a resident any sum, being in the nature of compensation or the enhanced compensation or the consideration or the enhanced consideration on account of compulsory acquisition, under any law for the time being in force, of any immovable property (other than agricultural land), shall, at the time of payment of such sum in cash or by issue of a cheque or draft or by any other mode, whichever is earlier, deduct an amount equal to ten per cent of such sum as income-tax thereon: Provided that no deduction shall be made under this section where the amount of such payment or, as the case may be, the aggregate amount of such payments to a resident during the financial year does not exceed two lakh and fifty thousand rupees: Provided further that no deduction shall be made under this section where such payment is made in respect of any award or agreement which has been exempted from levy of income-tax under section 96 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 (30 of 2013). (emphasis added) Explanation. - For the purposes of this Section, - (i) "agricultural land" means ....
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....rders, actions, etc., also undisputedly issued after 01.01.2014. 11.4 Under these circumstances, having regard to Article 265 of the Constitution of India, I am of the considered opinion that compensation payable in favour of the petitioners, whose lands were notified for acquisition subsequent to 01.01.2014 would be exempt from payment of income tax as well as exempt from deduction of tax deduction at source(TDS) and the impugned endorsements, communications, orders, actions, etc., issued/passed by the revenue are illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction or authority of law and liable to be quashed. 11.5 Under similar circumstances in relation to lands acquired for Metro Railways, a Learned Single Judge of the Kerala High Court in the case of Viswanathan M vs. The Chief Commissioner and others -2020 (2) KLJ 309 and a Division Bench of the Andhra Pradesh High Court in the case of C.Nanda Kumar v. Union of India and others - 2017 SCC Online Hyd 55 have held that compensation payable to land losers would be exempt from payment of income tax. 11.6 It is sought to be contended by the learned counsel for the revenue that Section 96 of the said Act of ....
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....nsequently, since all awards and compensation subsequent to 01.01.2014 would be under the said Act of 2013 which would be applicable to the same, the aforesaid provisions, viz., Section 96 of the said Act of 2013, the CBDT Circular dated 25.10.2016, Section 194-LA and Section 10(37) of the I.T.Act would also be applicable to all awards and compensation subsequent to 01.01.2014, all of which, would be entitled to the benefit of exemption from payment of income tax and from tax deduction at source(TDS). (v) Lastly, I have already come to the conclusion that the impugned awards, endorsements, orders, communications, official memorandums, actions etc., of the respondents directing payment of income tax and tax deduction at source (TDS) on the subject compensation amounts are illegal, arbitrary and without jurisdiction or authority of law and that the same deserve to be quashed and the respondents are to be directed to pass fresh / modified awards and do all such necessary acts, deeds and things etc., in favour of the petitioners under the said Act of 2013. As noted supra, Karnataka Industrial Areas Development (Amendment) Act, 2022 (Karnataka Act No. 20 of 2022) amended Sectio....
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....from payment of income tax and tax deduction at source(TDS) on the compensation amounts paid/payable in their favour". 7.20 The aforesaid view taken by this Court was confirmed by the Hon'ble Division Bench in Bangalore Metro Rail Corporation Ltd. v. Sri Balaji Corporate Services - ILR 2023 KAR 4947. The Hon'ble Division Bench held as under :- 38. As regards the relief sought for by the appellant for exemption of Tax and exemption of payment of deduction of tax at source, Section 96 of the Act, 2013 reads as under; "96. Exemption from income tax, stamp duty and fee. -No Income Tax or stamp duty can be levied on any award or agreement under Section 46 and no person claiming under any such award or agreement shall be liable to pay any fee for a copy of the same." 39. A Circular dated 25.10.2016 came to be issued by Central Board of Direct Taxes clarifying that the compensation received in respect of award or agreement which has been exempted from levy of income tax, under Section 96 of the Act, 2013 shall not be taxable under the provisions of Income Tax Act, 1961 even if there is no provision under the Income Tax Act. In the light of the above position,....
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....rary to the said view more particularly, for the reason of respondent/writ petitioners having held to be entitled for determination of their claim for compensation under Act, 2013. Since the only contention raised by the appellant in W.A. No. 1070/2022 that the exemption is provided under the new Act, 2013 and that having been held in favour of the respondents/writ petitioners, no grounds are made out warranting interference with the impugned order. 7.21 Viewed from this angle also, I am of the considered opinion that Section 96 of the RFCTLARR Act is applicable to compensation for land acquired under the N.H.Act and the said compensation is exempted from TDS / payment of income tax under the I.T.Act and the impugned order deserves to be set aside on this score also. 7.22 A perusal of the impugned order will indicate that the respondent has come to the conclusion that in view of Section 105(1) of the RFCTLARR Act is not applicable to acquisition of land under the N.H.Act, which is excluded in the Fourth Schedule, since the land of the petitioner was acquired under the N.H.Act and not under the RFCTLARR Act. 7.23 As stated hereinbefore, I have already come to the conc....
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...., unavoidable circumstances and sufficient cause and as such, the respondent clearly erred in refusing to condone the delay in filing the income tax returns by rejecting the application by passing the impugned order which deserves to be set aside. 8.1 While dealing with Section 119(2)(b) of the I.T.Act, this Court in the case of Dr. Sujatha Ramesh vs. CBDT - (2018) 401 ITR 242, held as under: Learned counsel Mr. V. Raghuraman, submitted that a fair and dispassionate view of the facts in the case of the assessee ought to have persuaded the Respondent (CBDT) which has a wide discretion in the matter under Section 119 of the Act, to condone the comparatively smaller delay of six months and allow the assessee to Date of Order 24-102017 W.P.No.54672/2015 Dr.(Smt.)Sujatha Ramesh Vs. Central Board of Direct Taxes and another. avail the said exemption from capital gain tax in terms of Section 54 EC of the Act. He placed reliance on the following decisions in this regard. (i) Artist Tree Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Central Board of Direct Taxes and others (2014) 369 ITR 691 (Bombay). The relevant para 11 to 14 and 23 of the said judgment are quoted below for ready reference. ....
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....e conditions mentioned in Circular dated October 12, 1993. The Legislature has conferred the power to condone delay to enable the authorities to do substantive justice to the parties by disposing of the matters on the merits. The expression 'genuine' has received a liberal meaning in view of the law laid down by the apex court referred to hereinabove and while considering this aspect, the authorities are expected to bear in mind that ordinarily the applicant, applying for condonation of delay does not stand to benefit by lodging its claim late. Refusing to condone delay can result in a meritorious matter being thrown out at the very threshold an cause of justice being defeated. As against this, when delay is condoned the highest that can happen is that a cause would be decided on the merits after hearing the parties. When substantial justice and technical considerations are pitted against each other, the cause of substantial justice deserves to be preferred for the other side cannot claim to have a vested right in injustice being done because of a non- deliberate delay. There is no presumption that delay is occasioned deliberately, or on account of culpable negligence, or o....