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TMI Blog2001 (6) TMI 35X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... 00 had been paid on behalf of the assessee and further a sum of Rs.4,22,544 had been deducted at source from out of the amount payable to the assessee and remitted to the credit of the Department by persons responsible for such payment and deduction. The assessment order had been passed by the Income-tax Officer as per order dated April 30,1986. Though this is not made part of the papers forwarded by the Appellate Tribunal, Sri Seshachala, learned standing counsel appearing on behalf of the Revenue, has made available a copy of the same before this court. The controversy arose in the context of entitlement of interest. On the amount of refund found due to the assessee on the passing of this assessment order. Though the Assessing Officer indicated a sum of Rs.7,63,329 was the amount of refund due, being the difference between the assessed tax and the advance tax paid, on passing of the assessment order, no interest was allowed on this refund amount. The assessee, being aggrieved by the same, appears to have preferred an appeal to the Commissioner of Income-tax (Appeals)-IV, and by an order dated June 30,1988,the said appeal was disposed of, inter alia, among various other aspect ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ay. It was the stand of the assessee that if such amount of tax deducted at source had been given credit to, then, the amount of tax payable by the assessee on regular assessment itself would have come down and so the difference between the advance tax Amount paid by the assessee and the tax determined on regular assessment would have been not merely Rs.4,67,679 as had been found by the Assessing Officer, but Rs.4,67,679 + Rs.4,22,544. The contention urged on behalf of the assessee found favour with the Commissioner (Appeals) an the Commissioner (Appeals) allowed the appeal of the assessee and held that the assessee was entitled to interest under section 214 in respect of the difference of the two figures, namely, Rs.53,00,000--Rs. 44,09,777, i.e., Rs.8,90,223, as we have indicated above. The Revenue, being aggrieved by this order, further appealed to the Appellate Tribunal. The Appellate Tribunal, by order dated February 6, 1996, dismissed the appeals holding that the assessee was entitled to interest on excess of advance tax paid after giving credit for tax deducted at source and indicated that in the exercise of determination of excess advance tax, the Assessing Officer should ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... The learned judges of the Allahabad High Court had answered this question in the affirmative and in favour of the Revenue and accordingly, learned counsel for the Revenue submits that the question that has been posed for our answer is also required to be answered in favour of the Revenue and against the assessee. Learned counsel has also drawn our attention to the decision of the Supreme Court in Modi Industries Ltd. v. CIT [1995] 216 ITR 759, particularly the discussions occurring at pages 781, 790 and 800. The ratio which learned counsel relies upon as emerges in the discussion of the apex court in these paragraphs is that interest provided for under the provisions of section 214 is a statutory one and that can be allowed only strictly in conformity with the provisions of section 214. Learned counsel points out that in so far as the present assessment is concerned, the concept of assessed tax which had been introduced by way of amendment and which has come into effect from April 1, 1985, was not available to the Assessing Officer or for the assessee to rely upon to claim interest on an amount which is found to be in excess of advance tax which was not part of advance tax paid as ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... ial year in which they are payable under sections 207 to 215 exceeds the amount of the tax determined on regular assessment, from the 1st day of April next following the said financial year to the date of the regular assessment for the assessment year immediately following the said financial year, and where any such instalment is paid after the expiry of the financial year during which it is payable by reason of the provisions of section 213, interest as aforesaid shall also be payable on that instalment from the date of its payment to the date of the regular assessment: Provided that in respect of any amount refunded on a provisional assessment under section 141A, no interest shall be paid for any period after the date of such provisional assessment. (1A) Where on completion of the regular assessment the amount on which interest was paid under sub-section (1) has been reduced, the interest shall be reduced accordingly and the excess, if any, paid shall be deemed to be tax payable by the assessee and the provisions of this Act shall apply accordingly. (2) On any portion of such amount which is refunded under this Chapter, interest shall be payable only up to the date on whic ..... X X X X Extracts X X X X X X X X Extracts X X X X ..... uch questions of law which arise in the course of the order passed by the Tribunal and as a question which has formed the basis for decision by the Tribunal in the facts and circumstances of the case. If a question which is referred for the opinion of the High Court does not really arise out of the facts and circumstances of the case decided by the Tribunal, answering such a question becomes a mere academic exercise inasmuch as the Tribunal will not be in a position to bring the order passed earlier by it in conformity with such opinion of the High Court as the opinion expressed by the High Court will be on an academic question of law not arising or applicable to the case on hand. But when once the High Court answers the reference, the Tribunal is bound to modify its earlier decision to bring it in conformity with the opinion expressed by the High Court. We are not inclined to put the Tribunal to this predicament by answering a question which really does not arise from out of the facts and circumstances of the case in respect of which the Tribunal has rendered its decision. Accordingly, we decline to answer the reference and return the reference made to us without answering. 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