2004 (4) TMI 66 - HC - Income Tax

Petitioner has filed this petition challenging the action of respondent No.2, who has attached the bank account for recovery of the income-tax due against the petitioner in continuation of the assessment order passed by respondent No.2, against which appeal is pending before Tribunal Held that till pendency of the appeal, recovery proceedings was liable to be stayed - it is directed that in case the petitioner deposits Rs. 50,000 with respondent No.2 within a period of two weeks from today, respondent No.2 shall release the bank account of the petitioner for a period of 60 days thereafter, so that the petitioner may seek an interim order from the Tribunal.

Summary

Issues:
Challenge to attachment of bank account for recovery of income tax pending appeal before Tribunal.

Analysis:
The petitioner challenged the attachment of their bank account by respondent No.2 for the recovery of income tax while the appeal was pending before the Tribunal. The petitioner argued that the Tribunal only had a circuit court at Jabalpur, which was not regularly functioning. Despite filing an appeal and a stay application, the Tribunal could not consider the matter, leading to the petitioner facing difficulties.

The court noted that the petitioner's appeal was indeed pending before the Tribunal, which was holding a circuit court at Jabalpur that was not regularly sitting. Due to these circumstances, the petitioner's application for stay of recovery could not be addressed by the Tribunal, causing hardship to the petitioner.

In light of the above, the court directed the petitioner to deposit Rs. 50,000 with respondent No.2 within two weeks. Upon such deposit, respondent No.2 was ordered to release the petitioner's bank account for a period of 60 days. This would allow the petitioner to seek an interim order from the Tribunal during this period.

The judgment concluded by disposing of the petition with the aforementioned directions, providing relief to the petitioner in the form of a temporary release of the bank account for seeking further legal remedies before the Tribunal.