2003 (2) TMI 44 - HC - Income Tax

Appellant has rightly submitted that once the Tribunal has refused to condone the delay and dismissed the appeal as barred by limitation it has no jurisdiction or authority to go into the merits of the case and pass an order of remand. Once the Tribunal has arrived at the conclusion that the appeal is barred by limitation the Tribunal has no jurisdiction to entertain the appeal of the Revenue on the merits and issue any direction in regard thereto. The Tribunal having committed an error of law in remanding the matter we allow the appeal filed by the assessee and set aside the order of remand passed by the Tribunal.

Summary

The High Court of Gauhati heard an appeal related to the assessment year 1988-89 for Namdang Tea Company (India) Limited. The Income-tax Appellate Tribunal dismissed the appeal as barred by time but still considered the merits of the case and remanded it for reconsideration of a deduction claimed under section 80HHC of the Income-tax Act, 1961. The High Court ruled that once the appeal was dismissed as time-barred, the Tribunal had no jurisdiction to delve into the merits and issue a remand order. The High Court allowed the appeal and set aside the Tribunal's remand order. No costs were awarded in this case.