2023 (6) TMI 1218 - HC - Income Tax

Territorial jurisdiction of this High Court - HELD THAT - As since the AO who framed the assessment is located in Gurugram, of the Supreme Court rendered in CIT v. ABC Papers Ltd 2022 (8) TMI 863 - SUPREME COURT the instant appeals will not lie in the present High Court. Accordingly, liberty is sought to withdraw the appeals and file the same before the Court which would have territorial jurisdiction in the matter. Leave in that behalf is granted. The appellant/revenue is given eight weeks to file the appeals. The time to file the appeals will commence from the date of receipt of a copy of the order.

Summary

Issues:
Delay in refiling the appeals, Territorial jurisdiction of the High Court

Delay in Refiling the Appeals:
Two applications were filed seeking condonation of delay in refiling the appeals. The delay was stated to be 130 days by the appellant. The court, after considering the reasons provided in the applications, condoned the delay and disposed of the applications.

Territorial Jurisdiction of the High Court:
During the hearing, it was pointed out by Mr. Sanjay Kumar, representing the appellant/revenue, that as the Assessing Officer who framed the assessment is situated in Gurugram, the appeals should not lie in the present High Court as per a judgment of the Supreme Court. Consequently, the appellant sought liberty to withdraw the appeals and file them before the Court with the appropriate territorial jurisdiction. The court granted permission for this withdrawal and filing, allowing the appellant eight weeks to do so from the date of receipt of the order. It was specified that the time for filing the appeals would start from the order's copy receipt date. The parties were instructed to act based on the digitally signed copy of the order.

This judgment primarily dealt with the condonation of delay in refiling appeals and the issue of territorial jurisdiction of the High Court based on the location of the Assessing Officer. The court, after considering the delay and reasons provided, allowed the condonation of the delay and disposed of the applications accordingly. Additionally, recognizing the importance of territorial jurisdiction as per the Supreme Court's judgment, the court granted permission for the withdrawal of the appeals and their subsequent filing before the appropriate court with territorial jurisdiction.