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2014 (11) TMI 294 - AT - Income TaxMaintainability of appeal Tax effect less than prescribed monetary limit for filing appeal Tax effect less than ₹ 4 lacs Revision of monetary limits through circular - Held that - Following the decision in CIT Vs M/s. P. S. Jain & Co. 2010 (8) TMI 702 - Delhi High Court - the Board has rightly taken a decision not to file references if the tax effect less than the amount prescribed - The same policy for old matters needs to be adopted by the Department - Instruction No.5/2014 FNo279/Misc.142/2007-ITJ(Pt) dated 10th July, 2014 will apply to pending appeals also for the reason that the same is exactly identical to earlier instructions - also in The Commissioner of Income Tax v. Smt. Vijaya V. Kavekar 2013 (2) TMI 451 - Bombay High Court it has been held that the applicability of circular was considered and the monetary limit was increased and appeals were to be filed only in cases where the tax effect exceeded ₹ 4 Lacs - no appeals would be filed in the cases involving tax effect less than ₹ 4 Lacs notwithstanding the issue being of recurring nature - the prevailing instructions fixing the monetary limit for the tax effect would hold good even for pending cases revenue could not point out any of the exceptions - this being a low tax effect case, the appeal cannot be admitted Decided against revenue.
Issues Involved:
1. Applicability of CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014 regarding monetary limits for filing appeals. 2. Whether the instruction applies retrospectively or prospectively. 3. Examination of exceptions to the applicability of the instruction. Detailed Analysis: 1. Applicability of CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014: The core issue in this appeal is whether the CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014, which revises the monetary limits for filing appeals by the Department before the ITAT, applies to this case. The instruction sets a limit of Rs. 4 lakhs for tax effect, below which appeals should not be filed. The appeal in question involves a tax effect below Rs. 4 lakhs, specifically Rs. 11,09,619/-. 2. Retrospective or Prospective Application: The respondent's counsel argued that the appeal should be dismissed based on the revised monetary limits set by the CBDT Instruction No. 5/2014. The Department's representative contended that the instruction is prospective and should not apply to appeals filed before 10.07.2014. However, the Tribunal referred to precedents from the Hon'ble Delhi High Court and Hon'ble Gujarat High Court, which have held that such instructions should apply to pending cases to reduce litigation where the tax effect is minimal. 3. Examination of Exceptions: The Tribunal examined whether any exceptions to the instruction applied, such as: - Loss cases with tax effect above the prescribed limit. - Composite orders for multiple assessment years exceeding the prescribed limit. - Cases involving the constitutional validity of the Act or Rules. - Cases where Board's orders, Notifications, Instructions, or Circulars are held illegal or ultra vires. - Cases with accepted Revenue Audit Objections. The Department's representative could not point out any exceptions that applied to this case. Conclusion: The Tribunal concluded that the appeal of the Revenue is not maintainable as it involves a tax effect below the prescribed limit of Rs. 4 lakhs, and none of the exceptions to the instruction were applicable. The appeal was dismissed in limine without delving into the merits of the case. Order: The appeal of the Revenue is dismissed. The order was pronounced in open court on 05.11.2014.
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