2020 (2) TMI 1435 - AT - Income Tax

Maintainability of appeal on low tax effect - according to the Tribunal, the tax effect on relief granted by the CIT(A) was less than the monetary limit provided by the Circular, hence appeal was dismissed as not maintainable - assessees have claimed bogus LTCG/STCG through penny stock - HELD THAT - During the course of hearing, assessee sought an adjournment on the ground that he would like to submit the details that no bogus Long Term Capital Gain was claimed by the assessee and the hearing was adjourned to 17/04/2020. However, after sometime, before raising the Court, he submitted that assessee would like to take benefit of new Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme introduced two-three days back and therefore he has no objection if this miscellaneous application is allowed.

Summary

Issues:
1. Dismissal of Revenue's appeal based on CBDT Circular
2. Clarification of Circular regarding cases involving bogus LTCG/STCG
3. Request for recall of Tribunal's order
4. Assessee's submission regarding new Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme
5. Decision to recall the Tribunal's order and restore the appeal

Issue 1: Dismissal of Revenue's appeal based on CBDT Circular
The present judgment involves a miscellaneous application by the Revenue pointing out an error in the Tribunal's order dated 14/08/2019, where the appeal of the Revenue was dismissed. The Tribunal had relied on a CBDT Circular dated 08/08/2019, stating that if the tax effect due to relief granted by the CIT(A) is less than ?50 lakhs, the Revenue would not file an appeal before the Tribunal. As the tax effect was below the monetary limit specified in the Circular, the appeal was considered not maintainable.

Issue 2: Clarification of Circular regarding cases involving bogus LTCG/STCG
Subsequently, the Revenue clarified through Circulars dated 06/09/2019 and 16/09/2019 that the earlier Circular would not be applicable in cases where assessees had claimed bogus LTCG/STCG through penny stock. In light of this clarification, the Revenue filed a miscellaneous application requesting the recall of the Tribunal's order.

Issue 3: Request for recall of Tribunal's order
During the hearing, the assessee's counsel sought an adjournment to provide details to refute the claim of bogus Long Term Capital Gain. However, the counsel later informed the Court that the assessee intended to benefit from the new Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme and had no objection to the allowance of the miscellaneous application.

Issue 4: Assessee's submission regarding new Kar Vivad Samadhan Scheme
Considering the submissions of both parties, the Tribunal decided to allow the miscellaneous application filed by the Revenue. The Tribunal recalled its order dated 14/08/2019 and restored the appeal to its original number, directing the Registry to list the appeal for a hearing on 27/04/2020 without issuing any further notice to the parties.

In conclusion, the Tribunal allowed the miscellaneous application filed by the Revenue, leading to the recall of the earlier order and the restoration of the appeal for further proceedings. The decision was made in consideration of the clarifications provided by the Revenue regarding the applicability of the CBDT Circular in cases involving bogus LTCG/STCG.