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2024 (12) TMI 263

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..... required to be paid by the Government of India, when there are refund amounts which are admittedly payable to the assessee s. Any delay being caused in making payments of such refund and the interests payable thereon, is attributable wholly to the officials of the department, as it is they who are not taking prompt actions. As a Constitutional Court, we cannot overlook these issues and merely pass routine orders recording grant / receipt of refund. This ought not to be the only concern of the Court, in considering the legal rights of the assessees, as the Court would be equally concerned with the larger public interest of a burden on the public exchequer, when it is noticed by the Court that for no justifiable reasons, such refunds are blo .....

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..... Thus, any situation of an unjust enrichment is not acceptable. The situation in hand is of a delay, by which a serious prejudice to both the revenue and to the assessee is caused. As regards the total interest amount being payable to the petitioner in the present proceeding Respondents would take instructions and make an appropriate statement either on the adjourned date of hearing or earlier to that so that appropriate orders can be passed. - G. S. KULKARNI ADVAIT M. SETHNA, JJ. For the Petitioner : Mr. Percy Pardiwalla, Sr. Adv. i/b Harsh R. Shah, P. Savla. For the Respondents : Mr. Akhileshwar Sharma. P.C. 1. This petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India brings to the fore a serious concern in the laxity of the Responde .....

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..... icers, handling the assessee s case. Such unwarranted interest amounts being required to be paid, if saved can be utilized for other essential public expenditures. It is the citizens of the country who are being deprived of the benefits of such amounts instead of the same being paid to the assessee s, on account of the negligence and / or the fault of the officers of the department. We have routinely seen that when the matters reach this Court, the Revenue instantly takes a position that the refund would be credited to the assessee, without disputing the claim of the assessee for refund, as in such cases there is no defence to such petitions, as it is a statutory obligation on the part of the Revenue to refund that amounts and on such refun .....

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..... er 2024 we had passed the following order : 1. In view of the reply affidavit filed on behalf of the Revnue of Mr. Pravin L. Pande, Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax, fairly stating that there are inadvertent mistakes in paragraphs 8 and 11, it would be in the interest of justice that further appropriate steps be taken and as set out in the affidavit. 2. We accordingly adjourn the proceedings. Stand over to 2 December 2024. First on Board. 6. Today we are informed by Mr. Pardiwalla that after the aforesaid orders were passed by the Court, on 29 November 2024 a refund of Rs. 77,64,71,629/- has been granted in the proportion of Rs. 45,84,30,382/- for A. Y. 2016-17 and Rs. 31,80,41,247/- for the A. Y. 2013-14. It is however his submission t .....

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..... rs recording grant / receipt of refund. This ought not to be the only concern of the Court, in considering the legal rights of the assessees, as the Court would be equally concerned with the larger public interest of a burden on the public exchequer, when it is noticed by the Court that for no justifiable reasons, such refunds are blocked and huge interest in that regard is ultimately paid by the Government of India. 10. In the light of the above observations, we direct respondent Nos. 5 and 6 to place an affidavit on record, after taking appropriate instructions from the CBDT and after confirming such affidavit from the CBDT, as to approach the concerned officials are required to follow, in such situations so as to avoid burdening the publ .....

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