2024 (1) TMI 1250 - HC - Income Tax

Refund of the tax collected in relation to the subject land acquisition compensation - Seeking exemption from payment of income tax on the land acquisition compensation under the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act 2013 - As contended that the petitioner was unaware of the exemption for deduction of tax deducted at source as well as payment of tax in respect of the land acquisition compensation received by her and when she came to know about the same she submitted an application u/s 119 2 b seeking condonation of delay and sought for refund accordingly. HELD THAT - The said issue/question is truly and squarely covered by the Division Bench decision of this Court in the case of BANGALORE METRO RAIL CORPORATION LIMITED v. M/s. SRI BALAJI CORPORATE SERVICES AND OTHERS 2023 (9) TMI 1444 - KARNATAKA HIGH COURT wherein it is held that the land acquisition compensation is exempted from payment of income tax. Applying the law laid down the respondents committed error in rejecting the request of the petitioner for refund of the tax collected by them in relation to the subject land acquisition compensation. Request of the petitioner for condonation of delay rejected - A perusal of the impugned order will indicate that the respondents had adopted hyper technical approach and failed to consider and appreciate the reasons assigned by the petitioner in her application dated 22.02.2022 which clearly constituted valid and sufficient cause for not being able to submit the refund application within the prescribed period. Under these circumstances the impugned order rejecting the request for condonation of delay is also contrary to the material on record and the same deserves to be quashed on this ground also. In the result the following Order - The petition is hereby allowed. The impugned order is set aside. The respondent No. 1 is directed to refund the entire tax collected by the respondents back to the petitioner as expeditiously as possible and at any rate within a period of one month from the date of receipt of a copy of this order.

Summary

Issues involved:
The issues involved in the judgment are the petitioner seeking a Writ of Certiorari to quash an order and a Writ of Mandamus to direct the authority to consider an application for exemption under the Income Tax Act, 1961.

Issue 1 - Quashing of Impugned Order:
The petitioner, an individual assessee under the Income Tax Act, filed returns for the assessment year 2018-19, disclosing tax on long term capital gains from compensation received. The petitioner sought exemption for tax deducted at source and payment of tax on land acquisition compensation. The respondent rejected the application on grounds of delay and merits. The High Court held that the land acquisition compensation is exempt from income tax based on a previous Division Bench decision. The Court found the rejection of the refund request by the respondent to be erroneous and allowed the petition, setting aside the impugned order.

Issue 2 - Condonation of Delay:
The petitioner submitted an application under Section 119[2][b] of the IT Act seeking condonation of delay in filing for a refund. The respondent rejected the request citing delay. The High Court noted that the reasons provided by the petitioner for the delay were valid and sufficient, and the respondent's rejection was based on a hyper-technical approach. The Court found the rejection of the delay condonation request to be contrary to the material on record. Consequently, the Court allowed the petition, directing the respondent to refund the tax collected back to the petitioner expeditiously within one month of the order.

This summary provides a detailed overview of the judgment, addressing each issue involved and the Court's findings and directives.