2020 (12) TMI 1343 - AT - Income Tax

Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020 - assessee has submitted withdrawal application stating that the assessee has opted to settle the dispute relating to the tax arrears - HELD THAT - As we accept the request of the assessee for withdrawal of the appeal as Pr.CIT-2 has issued Form-3. The aforesaid is subject to a caveat that in case the dispute relating to tax arrears for the captioned A.Y. is not ultimately resolved in terms of the afore-stated Act, the appellant (i.e. the assessee) is at liberty to approach the Tribunal for reinstitution of the appeal and the Tribunal shall consider such application appropriate as per law. The Ld.DR for the revenue has no objection with regard to the aforesaid caveat.

Summary

Issues:
Appeal against CIT(A) order for A.Y. 2015-16 under Income Tax Act, 1961.
Withdrawal of appeal by assessee under "Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020".
Acceptance of withdrawal request subject to conditions.

Analysis:
The judgment deals with an appeal filed by the assessee against the order of CIT(A)-5, Hyderabad for the assessment year 2015-16 under the Income Tax Act, 1961. The appeal was heard through Video Conference on 09.12.2020, where the assessee's representative submitted a withdrawal application dated 03.12.2020. The application stated that the assessee has chosen to settle the tax arrears dispute for the relevant assessment year under the "Vivad Se Vishwas Scheme, 2020". It was further mentioned that the assessee had filed an application and received Form-3 in this regard. The representative of the Revenue did not object to this submission by the assessee.

The Tribunal accepted the assessee's request for withdrawal of the appeal since the Principal Commissioner-2 had issued Form-3 in relation to the settlement under the scheme. However, this acceptance was subject to a condition. The judgment stated that if the dispute concerning tax arrears for the mentioned assessment year is not resolved as per the Act mentioned earlier, the assessee has the liberty to approach the Tribunal for reinstatement of the appeal. The Tribunal would then consider such an application appropriately according to the law. The representative of the Revenue did not object to this caveat. Consequently, the appeal of the assessee was dismissed as 'withdrawn'. The order was pronounced in Open Court on 11/12/2020.

This judgment thus highlights the procedural aspect of withdrawal of an appeal by an assessee under a specific scheme, with the Tribunal allowing such withdrawal subject to the condition that the dispute resolution under the scheme may lead to reinstatement of the appeal if necessary. The judgment ensures that the assessee has the opportunity to reinitiate the appeal in case the dispute is not resolved as anticipated under the scheme.