2023 (1) TMI 75 - SCH - Income Tax

Appellate jurisdiction of the High Court u/s 260A - Whether this Court has territorial jurisdiction adjudicate upon the lis over an order passed by the Assessing officer, i.e. Income Tax Officer, Ward 1(1), at Surat? - HELD THAT - The very question fell for consideration before a Bench of three learned Judges which is reported in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Chandigarh v. ABC Papers Ltd. 2022 (8) TMI 863 - SUPREME COURT Therein this Court has held that the appellate jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 260A is exercisable by the High court within whose territorial jurisdiction the assessing officer is located. In the facts of this case, we have noticed that by the impugned order, the High Court has precisely proceeded on the same principle. This means that the order by which the appeal has been directed to be presented before the High Court of Gujarat as the AO who passed the order was located at Surat within the State of Gujarat, is unexceptionable. We see no reason to interfere with the impugned order. Learned counsel for the petitioner would point out that on an earlier occasion, the High Court of Gujarat has taken a contrary view. We need only mention that any contrary view which has been taken cannot survive after the authoritative announcement by this Court in the decision we have referred to. Making this also clear, the special leave petition will stand dismissed.

Summary

Issues: Jurisdiction of High Court under Section 260A of Income Tax Act

In this judgment, the Supreme Court addressed the issue of territorial jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 260A of the Income Tax Act, 1961. The High Court of Punjab and Haryana had ordered the appeal to be presented before the High Court of Gujarat due to the location of the Assessing Officer in Surat, Gujarat. The petitioner argued that a contrary view was taken by the High Court of Gujarat previously.

The Supreme Court referred to a previous decision in Principal Commissioner of Income Tax-I, Chandigarh v. ABC Papers Ltd. (2022) 9 SCC 1, where it was held that the appellate jurisdiction of the High Court under Section 260A is to be exercised by the High Court within whose territorial jurisdiction the assessing officer is located. The Court emphasized that even if the assessee's case is transferred under Section 127, the High Court where the assessing officer passed the order retains jurisdiction. The Supreme Court found that the High Court had correctly applied this principle in the present case, directing the appeal to be filed before the High Court of Gujarat.

The petitioner's contention regarding a contrary view taken by the High Court of Gujarat was dismissed by the Supreme Court. It was clarified that any conflicting view could not stand after the authoritative pronouncement by the Supreme Court in the referenced decision. Consequently, the special leave petition was dismissed. The judgment reaffirmed the principle that the High Court's jurisdiction under Section 260A is determined by the location of the assessing officer, as established in previous legal precedents and reiterated in this case.