2019 (8) TMI 1621 - AT - Income Tax

Maintainability of appeal - low tax effect - HELD THAT - As tax effect involved in the appeals under consideration individually is not more than 50 lacs hence the instant appeals are liable to be dismissed as not maintainable in view of the latest CBDT Circular No.17/2019 dated 08.08.2019 whereby the Revenue Department is precluded from filing the appeals(s) before appellate tribunal against the order (s) of CIT(A) in which the tax effect does not exceed 50, 00, 000/- as specified in the Circular and the CBDT Clarification dated 20th August 2019 whereby it is clarified that revised monetary limits so mentioned in the circular 17/2019 is applicable to all pending SLPs/Appeals/Cross Objections/References. Liberty is granted to the Revenue Department to seek recall of the order in case it realize that the captioned appeal falls within the exception as prescribed in Circular No.03/2018 (supra) and/or having involved the tax effect more than 50 lacs. Appeal of Revenue Department stands dismissed as withdrawn.

Summary

Issues: Jurisdiction of Appellate Tribunal ITAT Amritsar, Tax effect threshold for appeal, Dismissal of appeals below specified tax effect

The Appellate Tribunal ITAT Amritsar, comprising Sh. B.R. Baskaran, Accountant Member, and Sh. N.K. Choudhry, Judicial Member, addressed the issue of jurisdiction in the present case. The Revenue Department had filed appeals against orders passed by the Ld. CIT(A) under section 250(6) of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The Tribunal noted that the tax effect in each appeal did not exceed 50 lakhs. Referring to the CBDT Circular No.17/2019 and the subsequent clarification dated 20th August 2019, the Tribunal held that appeals with a tax effect below 50 lakhs were not maintainable. The Circular restricted the Revenue Department from filing appeals before the tribunal in such cases. Consequently, the Tribunal declared the appeals as not maintainable and dismissed them.

The Tribunal acknowledged that the Revenue Department could request a recall of the order if it believed the appeal fell within exceptions outlined in Circular No.03/2018 or if the tax effect exceeded 50 lakhs. This provision granted the Revenue Department the opportunity to seek a review of the decision in specific circumstances. Ultimately, the appeals filed by the Revenue Department were dismissed as withdrawn due to the tax effect falling below the specified threshold. The order was pronounced in open court on 23/08/2019, bringing the matter to a close.